Before It's Too Late
by IAmLurker
Summary: AU, Set after 8 Years.  Rachel Berry is very much accomplished Broadway Star.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Glee this all belong to wondrous Ryan Murphy and Fox Network.

**Author's Note: **I know I should finish the changes but can't help to create a new! Big shout out to my proofreader/beta reader **JOHN KNIGHTHAWK** you make my writing easier**.**

**Prologue**

"We have another year" Will Schuester told his students.

It was a collective response for everyone, every member of the team was hugging each other and they couldn't contain the happiness that they felt at the good news that Mr. Schuester told them. At the end of the moment they fell silent and seemed to wait for someone to burst out into speech, but for the good of like a minute or so it was still quiet.

"Where is RuPaul?" Santana snorted, not that she missed the feisty diva or anything, it was just something that they couldn't miss.

Before anyone could answer they heard Rachel voice, it seemed that the brunette was talking on the phone while heading towards the music room. Everyone was waiting for Rachel to come into full view and it was a collective gasp when they saw the diva in what seemed like normal clothing, without the argyle and plaid.

Rachel simply wore tight fit jeans and a vintage shirt, with her hair pull back and her bangs cascading to half of her face. While walking towards her usual seat, her hand still on the phone she gave a timid smile to Mr. Schuester and signaled that she was sorry, but Mr. Schuester just gave her a reassuring smile. When she settled in her chair Rachel started speaking again.

Everyone was eyeing Rachel, she looked different, and when she resumed talking on the phone everyone just fell silent. Though it's only a one way they could see that Rachel was different when she talked to her dads.

"Nope dad, it's totally fine…no, we don't have to do that, I mean it's no use if you ask me. I know, I will be meeting them, father this isn't the first that you guys travel without me, you guys deserve some alone time and I'm sure Bali will both do you some good. Dad, I already told you I don't want to come along, I'll be meeting Livy, we've already planned everything, I know, I'll be at their place all throughout the summer. Yes dad I'm quite certain. Of course, I will, you too, finally! I love you too dad and give my love to daddy. I'll see you guys in four weeks, yes dad, oww.. I know you are. Thank you."

Rachel ended the conversation with her fathers.

"Sorry" she simply said.

"It's okay Rachel, as we all know now, we have another year" the director said energetically.

Everyone was waiting for the brunette to say something but she just nodded and smiled.

"That's it?" she heard Mercedes ask her.

She looked up at the girl and looked confused "huh?"

"I mean you're not going to say anything? Bugging everyone to have at least start rehearsals for the next competition and how we were defeated by Vocal Adrenaline and almost lost Glee for that matter?"

"I didn't know you could use that many words Mercedes" she said matter of factly.

"Don't talk to her like that RuPaul" Quinn snapped in defense of her new best friend.

Quinn snarled at Rachel and looked the brunette in the eyes.

"Oh I forgot you guys are best friends now" Rachel said, looking at Quinn intently.

Quinn couldn't read the brunette's expression, it was blank. Sometimes she was amazed on how easy it was for Rachel to change expressions, from happy, confused, frustrated, sad and now unreadable. She composed herself and retorted back again.

"Yes we are, that's why don't even think of messing with her, do we understood each other?" Quinn waited for the response.

"Quinn, I don't like messing with people lives, I don't like hurting people just to feel good about myself" Rachel tried to show some patience to calm Quinn down.

"Are you insinuating that I don't feel good about myself? Because clearly Man-hands, no one even likes you here, without your talent you would not have a place here" Quinn retorted back at the diva, which solicited a giggle from the other members of the club.

"Enough!" Before it even escalated Mr. Schuester tired to prevent it. Will looked at Rachel apologetically, and tried to smile. But the brunette's expression was unreadable.

"Can I say something?" she heard some groans from her teammates.

"Sure" Schuester said, considering that's was only thing that he could give the star of his show choir.

"Is there anymore announcements you wanted to make, Mr. Schue?"

"N-no more" Schuester said.

Rachel stood up and looked at everyone; she studied their faces as if that was the last time she would be able to see them.

She first looked at Santana and Brittany. Santana was sneering at her as always, she never saw the Latina looking nice at her. Brittany on the hand looked lost, and Rachel smiled at her and Brittany immediately returned that smile back. But when Santana noticed it the tall blonde immediately wiped off the smile on her face.

"_Nothing is ever going to really change around here" Rachel t_hought to herself.

Then she looked at Mike and Matt, who clearly don't speak much, they just go with the flow, she doesn't hate them but she never had a reason to hate them anyway. Her gaze fall on Artie and Tina, though she liked the odd couple but most of the time the two always sided with Kurt and Mercedes. At first she questioned her capability to have friends, since it seemed no one bothered to like her, the only reason they need to talk to her is when they needed to discuss something about the performances, nothing more. But she couldn't help it sometimes, she felt alone, these people were supposed to be her friends, not just a teammate only but they never really gave her chance to be one. They treated her like crap, she knew that she had a very annoying attitude, but hell it didn't matter anymore; she just couldn't change because she wanted to have friends. These people didn't really know who she really was anyway, so why bother. Like right now, the two other jocks could not even look her directly in the eyes. She just took a deep breath to release her tension.

She looked at Puck who annoyingly looked back at her, he just grinned, held his crotch and mouthed "suck it, bitch". She just rolled her eyes and looked at Finn, who couldn't really look at her either.

At last her gazed fell on Quinn, Mercedes and Kurt who all were wearing a quite similar smirk on their faces, which alone pissed her off.

"What now, Treasure Trail? Cat got your tongue? You're kind of wasting our time you know that? Unlike you we have a social life! Whatever you want to say, get done with it" Santana retorted at her.

Rachel carefully placed her hands behind her back so no one could see them; she was quite sure that her nails were digging into her palms and her knuckles were turning white already. She needed to control her anger; she didn't want to say something that she would regret for the rest of her life.

Schuester was just eyeing his Glee Captain but he noticed that Rachel hid her hands behind her back, and saw how the brunette was controlling her emotions, he knew that his students had gone far but they've been doing that for a year now; it's not new to him. Though seeing Rachel's reaction confused him. If every time the brunette was trying hard to control her emotions she was doing a very good job for that matter,

"Well, everyone, I just want to wish you all have a blissful summer vacation and thank you" with that Rachel gathered her bags and slung them on her shoulder. But before she could even walk towards the door, she heard her name being called again.

"RuPaul, why are you thanking us for?" Quinn snapped at her and realized that it was a mistake to look Rachel directly. The Brunette's eyes were so dark; there was still no facial expression but her eyes burned with rage. Quinn shivered under the gaze and tried to look somewhere else when Rachel answered her question.

"I merely was thanking all of you for saying you don't like me; at least I don't have my hopes up."

"At last you realized what we've been doing for a long time" it was Puck.

Everyone was laughing along with Puck.

Rachel took a deep breath again and paid one more look at her teammates then left without another word.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 1**

Rachel Berry looked at her reflection in the mirror and tried to smile but the smile didn't reach her eyes. For the last 8 years she had already achieved everything she'd been dreaming of. A graduate from Julliard with highest distinction and she had received numerous awards both local and international. Her face graced every cover of the most prestigious magazines and she was named the new IT Girl on Broadway. In her 6 years as a Broadway Star, even though she was famous already she remained mysterious to everyone. She never divulged much of anything about her during interviews and her manager, publicist and agency respected her decision. She already felt naked every time she saw her face and the only thing that seemed to be real was the fact that she was still Rachel Berry, from Lima, Ohio, and used to be a laughing stock of everyone in her old school as well as her team mates. Only a few people in her social circle really knew her story, and she wanted it to remain that way.

She took a deep breath and looked at her family pictures placed on top of her organ. It was taken during her college graduation a couple of years ago. Her daddy Leroy was on her left, her dad Hiram was on the right, and both her parent's arms were wrapped around her shoulders. Her mom Shelby was standing beside her daddy Leroy with her arm loosely wrapped around his waist. Her cousins Damien and Olivia were beside her dad Hiram and all of them were smiling gratefully. She placed a kiss on the picture, so much had happened since she left Lima, Ohio 6 years ago, to attend the Summer Workshop in Julliard, which didn't push through because her cousin Livy forced her to audition for some Off Broadway Musical that was held in London, which became her passport to become one of the most sought after Broadway stars today. She couldn't help but remember back to that very day.

_Rachel left the music room with__ so much anger in her heart; she didn't walk away from that room she didn't know what she would do. When she reached her home she checked her phone for the time and call the Lima Cab Company for the taxi, she still had time; Rachel went to her room and took her bags downstairs. She didn't wait that long until the taxi arrived, she made sure that everything was locked. In about 3 hours she'll be in New York and she can get her mind on something else. She still felt furious over her team mates but she didn't want to deal with them anymore._

"_Rachel" she heard her name being called out. She scanned the area and saw that her Aunt Betty, her dad's Hiram youngest sister was waving at her standing besides her husband Uncle Marco. Her Aunt Betty is a Neo Natal Surgeon like her daddy Leroy, and her Uncle Marco is a DA in Manhattan. That's why her cousin Livy was taking the same path while her cousin Damien was following Aunt Betty's career. He was currently studying at Yale University aspiring to become a neurosurgeon and Olivia was currently at Harvard with a full ride academic scholarship._

_She waved back, walked past everybody else and lunged herself into her Aunt's embrace. She was the youngest in the family, her daddy Leroy is an only child and her dad Hiram has only one sibling._

"_Sweetie, we missed you" Betty said to her niece._

"_I missed you too" Marco placed a soft kiss on her niece forehead._

"_We should go now, your cousins are waiting for you" Marco said._

_Once they were settled __in the car she heard her aunt asking her some questions._

"_So how's everything, I heard what happen at Regionals."_

"_Yeah, well, it's all in the past now, and Vocal Adrenaline was really good and they seemed united" she said sadly._

_Betty looked at her niece on the review mirror and said "Honey, it's their loss."_

"_I'm not sure about that Auntie, they seemed to be there but they were never really there. I was just there because I had this big voice" Rachel said exasperated, and then she continued, "Sometimes I wish I'm just normal like everybody else, I'm kind of tired at being laughed at."_

_Marco and Betty knew everything that happened to their niece, there are times that their youngest daughter Olivia will spend a few hours over the phone talking to Rachel and they just felt bad for their niece. Rachel had been the baby of their family since she was born. From the very start they knew Rachel was destined to become someone, and at a very young age Rachel knew what she wanted to do. _

"_Honey" it was her Uncle Marco. Rachel looked at her uncle and waited for him to speak up._

"_You know when I was a kid I wasn't the cool kid in high school and everyone made fun of me, I was not on the football team or in any sports but it doesn't mean I don't know how to play, I focused on my studies because I wanted to be a lawyer when I grew up. I didn't retaliate on everything that they were doing because I told myself; I was destined to be someone else. I focused all my energy on studying, they called me names but I ignored them as they didn't stop until we reached senior year, I graduated Valedictorian and I had a full ride academic scholarship to Harvard but those jocks never knew that. After a few years I met some of them and I had to defend their asses on court and when they found out who I was they couldn't look at me straight in the eyes because they remembered everything that they did to me. And I felt good about it, because they knew they made a mistake and felt truly remorseful on what they've done and I forgave them; without the likes of those people I wouldn't be as hard a worker as I am now if I wasn't bullied." Rachel couldn't believe that her Uncle Marco had felt like an outcast too. One of the toughest Criminal Lawyers in Manhattan was bullied in high school._

"'_Wow__!" _

"_So you see sweetie, things happen for a reason, I'm sure they are greater things awaiting you here" her aunt Betty said firmly._

"_Thanks, I kind of feel better now."_

_After a few more minutes they arrived at Mattingson place, her uncle pulled out her luggage from the trunk and ascended towards the house. Nothing much had changed since they last visited; Rachel sat down at the couch and closed her eyes for a while, she just felt tired physically and emotionally. _

"_Pumpkin!' she __opened her eyes and saw Olivia looking down at her with a huge grin on her face._

_Olivia sat down beside her cousin and pulled Rachel into a tight embrace. Rachel relaxed into the warm body of her cousin and began to sob; she'd been keeping her emotions in check since the time she faced her team mates, she can't show vulnerability in front of them, she just can't._

_Olivia hugged her cousin more and tried to soothe the young brunette's emotions._

"_I just hate them" she heard Rachel said. She saw her mom have a questioning look on her face and she mouthed "she'll be okay"._

"_I know pumpkin, you're here now, and they can't hurt you anymore" she said, assuring the younger girl._

"_I'd rather have them hurt me physically than emotionally, Livy for 12 years that I know most of them they never gave me a chance. If there was any chance to bully me, they all did, why didn't they just stop! I tried to keep myself from hurting anyone but what they did was to keep provoking me, they never stopped!" Rachel said between sobs._

"_Oh, honey" Olivia felt her eyes begin to tear up. She knew everything; she became her cousin's shock absorber since she started studying. She felt her cousin ease up after few deep breaths._

_Rachel withdrew from the hug and smiled at her cousin._

"_Sorry" she said._

"_Don't be" Livy removed some strands of Rachel's hair covering her face and placed a soft kiss on her cheek._

"_Those rascals will know what they are missing when you're gone" Rachel rolled her eyes._

"_Livy, I will just be here during the summer, I'm not relocating here you know that"._

_Olivia sat there looking mysterious._

"_Well, not unless if you have a job."_

"_Why do I need a job in the first place?" she crooked her eyebrow__s and eyed her cousin curiously._

"_Well" Livy was smirking._

"_Olivia, wipe that smirk out off your beautiful face and get on with it. You know as a matter of fact that you're not good in keeping secrets from me right?" she dared her cousin._

_This time Olivia rolled her eyes._

"_Fine, I'll tell you."_

"_What is it then?" _

"_Hold on tight! I heard there is another Musical they want to do off Broadway in London."_

"_Which Musical?" Rachel asked while lying on the bed._

_Livy excitedly said to her cousin "Sound of Music". Rachel sat up and __looks at Livy._

"_No way" she said in disbelief._

"_Yes way, as a matter of fact they will have an open audition tomorrow at 9:00."_

"_Oh right, why here in the US? You said London, right?" _

"_Yeah I did, they're just making rounds here to find some talent that will suit them."_

"_I see" Rachel was nodding._

"_So?" Livy's hands were in her lap._

"_What so?" Rachel said with furrowed eyebrows._

"_Aren't you going to audition? This is your chance cous!" Livy can't believe that her baby cousin was not remotely interested in it._

"_Livy, I already got in at the Summer Workshop in Julliard remember? That's why we didn't travel this year."_

"_C'mon Rach, just do it, that's all I'm asking, auditions are tomorrow; if you don't make it then I'll leave you alone. Though I'm sure you'll make it and then we will be heading to London for the workshop and all" Livy pleaded to her cousin._

"_That's a very famous Broadway play; why do they need to make it Off Broadway? Why don't they make it like a revival or something?" she asks confusedly._

"_A friend told me that the producer wanted a fresh face, those who don't have any experience in Broadway yet, and I believe you have a shot at this musical, just give it try! C'mon Rach say yes!"_

_Rachel bit her lower lip contemplating saying yes, but she was nervous. She'd done auditions before but she never got in, and this was the big one, geez, Off Broadway production of Sound of Music, which was something._

"_Okay, I'll go. But which character? And what song?" Rachel fidgeted nervously._

_The older brunette smiled widely to her cousin and wrapped her long arms around her cousin's shoulder._

"_I already planned these things out. You will be auditioning for the role of Liesl and you will be singing 16 going 17" Livy said excitedly._

_Rachel looked at her cousin dumbfounded "Liv, you know I need a partner for that right?"_

"_Of course, Damien will sing with you" Livy was grinning widely._

"_Damien? He hates show tunes! Did he say yes?" she asked wide eyed._

"_Of course, sweetie, you are our baby cousin he couldn't say no, especially to ladies of the Berry's" Rachel laughed with that statement. Livy was right, Damien never said no to her, if she hung out with her cousins she forget about all the bad things that happened at McKinley._

_The happiness that Olivia saw in her cousin was contagious, that's why she couldn't help but to laugh too._

_It was the day of the audition, she shouldn't be nervous "16 Going on 17" is her bathroom song._

"_You're ready, Pumpkin?" Damien asked his cousin._

"_Of course" she kissed Damien's cheek and smile._

"_Sweetie, break a leg" Livy gave her cousin a tight hug which Rachel returned._

_When Damien and Rachel got in the room, they were in front of four people who__ were pretty much well known in Broadway circles until her eyes landed on the tall brunette lady who looked in her mid 30's and when she got her full view Rachel gasped because it was her mother. Damien seemed to notice that his cousin was about to faint when he followed her gaze he was shocked himself. They knew that Rachel's biological mother was a famous Broadway Veteran but she never expected that her cousin would be meeting her mother soon in the flesh. Rachel looked worriedly at Damien asking for help, Damien put on his happy face and leaned down to Rachel and said, "You will be fine, be yourself. You are destined to do this sweetie." Rachel closed her eyes and turned her back to the jurors and took a deep breath and finally she faced the four jurors again._

"_How are you Rachel?" the blonde middle aged woman said._

"_I'm fine thank you, how are you?"_

"_Were heading for the brick wall just so you know, hopefully you can push that brick wall aside. What are you going to sing for us?"_

"_Sorry to hear that, any ways, I'll be singing "16 going on 17" and I would like to sing the song with my cousin, if that's okay?" she asked politely. She looked at her mother who's looked intently at her, it felt like she'd been studying her every move. She never imagined that she would see her mother on her first Off Broadway audition, her fathers were generous enough to tell her everything about her biological mother, that's she didn't feel the need to go out in the world and look for her. At some times she wished she had a mother who could perfectly understand her. Not that her fathers can't, it's still different when there is your mother around._

"_Yes you may" she heard the middle aged woman said._

_Rachel looked at the pianist and nods her head. Damien __starts singing his line as a Rolf._

_(Damien)  
You wait little girl  
On an empty stage  
For fate to turn the light on_

Your life little girl  
is an empty page  
that men will want to write on

_He gave his best shot as he didn't want to screw this audition for his cousin. _

_(Damien)  
You are 16 going on 17  
Baby its time to think  
Better beware  
Be canny and careful  
Baby you're on the brink_

You are 16 going on 17  
Fellows will fall in line  
Eager young lads  
And grueways and cads  
Will offer you fruit and wine

Totally unprepared are you  
To face a world of men  
Timid and shy and scared are you  
Of things beyond your ken

_You need someone  
Older and wiser  
Telling you what to do  
I am 17 going on 18  
I'll take care of you  
_

_After the first part, Rachel started singing the part of Liesl's. Her angelic voice flowed into the four corners of the room. She was able to hit every note and put her whole emotion in it as if she was really Liesl._

_(Rachel)  
I am 16 going on 17  
I know that i'm naive  
Fellows I meet may tell me I'm sweet  
And willingly I believe_

I am 16 going on 17 innocent as a rose  
Bachelor dandies  
Drinkers of brandies  
What do I know of those

Totally unprepared am I  
To face a world of men  
Timid and shy and scared am I  
Of things beyond my ken

I need someone  
Older and wiser  
Telling me what to do  
You are 17 going on 18  
I'll depend on you

_Meanwhile, Shelby Corcoran was mesmerized __at the young girl's voice, and she knew instantly that it was her daughter, she's been dreaming to see her only child since she gave her to the Berry's. When she saw the name Rachel Berry on the list and saw she came from Lima, Ohio she'd been suspicious, she knew it would be her, Rachel's last name gave it away, and she was named after her. Rachel Shelby Alyssa Berry._

_Damien and Rachel finish__ed their last note beautifully and hear beaming applause around the room. When they looked at the producers they were all smiles while clapping their hands. Rachel looked at Shelby who was teary eyed; she felt the instant connection from her mother. _

"_Wow" the blonde middle aged lady said._

"_You have quite a voice right there young lady" the bald man said._

"_Thank you" she said politely._

"_Damien__, can you leave us for a while?" the tall guy with the full hairy face said._

"_Sure thing" Damien placed a soft kiss on Rachel's forehead before he left the room and mouthed good luck._

_When her cousin fully exited the room, she took a deep breath and looked at the jurors._

"_Did you have proper training?" the other guy asks her._

"_Yes, I had proper training."_

"_If I may say, even if you didn't have proper training I'm quite sure you would still sound beautifully" Shelby said, as she couldn't contain her excitement. _

"_I'm Stelle Liverlfield, I am the Executive Producer" _

"_I'm __Robert Downright, I'll be the Musical Director"_

"_I'm Reinhard Van Dooren, I'll be the Director" _

"_And I am Shelby Corcoran, I'll be playing Maria." _

_Rachel approached each person one by one to shake their hands, and she walked in front of her mother, the older brunette opened her arms and Rachel launched herself into that hug. It was short but nonetheless it was very meaningful._

"_It's all a pleasure to meet you."_

"_Are you in high school, Rachel?" the EP asks her._

"_Yes."_

"_Are you studying here in New York?"_

"_Nope I'm from Ohio. I'm just here for my Summer Workshop at Julliard." she explained._

_The four jurors looked at each other worriedly._

"_Did you happen to know that if ever you get in you have to move to London to do the show?" the Director asked._

"_Yes, I was aware."_

"_So you're willing to sacrifice your Julliard Workshop if ever?" the EP asked again._

_Rachel felt herself going to fall down, but she tried to compose herself._

"_Ahh—I never thought about it. I just got here yesterday and my cousin asked me to audition for this Off Broadway Musical but I never expected to pass the audition. Since every time I go for an audition and mind you it's not that big a production in Ohio, it seems I never get any, that's why I force myself to get better on what I do…oh… I'm sorry I'm rambling, I ramble if I'm nervous." Rachel looked down at the ground._

_Rachel didn't see the amusement in the jurors faces._

"_Rachel, if those people didn't get you on those productions they don't know what they are missing. You have a voice to die for, I'm sure you're very good at what you do" Shelby assured her._

_Rachel slowly looked at the EP's eyes._

"_Does it mean, I-"Rachel couldn't put it into words._

"_Yes, Ms. Rachel Berry, you got the role" the MD with a heavy British accent said finally._

"_Oh my G-d" she couldn't believe she got it, after many years of auditioning in their community theatre in Ohio she never got in but this time a big Off Broadway Production and to be held in London she made it! She couldn't help herself; she flipped over with a perfect summersault._

"_Oh my, this young lady is full of talent!" the director exclaimed, while everyone was laughing at Rachel's happiness._

"_Oh G-d, I need to talk to Julliard. My school, there is no way my father will allow me to go to London if I stop my education" Rachel said, about to hyperventilate._

_Shelby __stood up and wrapped her arms around the girl's shoulders._

"_Deep breath, inhale, exhale" Rachel repeated the mantra until she felt more relaxed._

"_Listen, no need to worry about anything, Stelle will talk to your parents and settle it" Shelby said to her baby girl as if that was a very normal thing to do._

"_But my dads are not here, they currently in Bali on their yearly vacation, my aunt and my uncle are my guardians right now. But I can call them tomorrow" Rachel said expectantly._

"_Dads?" the EP said._

_Rachel stiffened._

"_Yes I have two gay fathers, whom I love to death, is there any problem?" Rachel said, looking straight into Stelle's eyes._

_Stelle looked curiously at Shelby and Shelby just nodded her head and she just smiled at the thought; Rachel will play Liesl and Shelby would be Maria. Mother and Daughter, Stelle knew the story of Shelby, for many years they worked together and they became really good friends. As a matter of fact they treat each other like sisters._

"_None at all" Stelle smiled to reassure their new found talent. _

"_So here__'s what will happen, the workshop will last for 3 months, and the production itself will last for 6 months all over the UK. If that goes well and we got picked up on Broadway it will run for another six months or a year, not only in UK but all over Europe." Stelle was back in her professional mode._

"_O—okay, I don't want to get my hopes up so we will take it one day at a time then" she said proudly._

"_That's what I'm talking about, young and professional" the director said._

_Rachel just smiled, she was just grateful with everything._

"_I will let the PA contact you tomorrow to arrange everything, and we will discuss this matter with your fathers and also with regards to your contract."_

"_Okay then, so I can go now?" _

"_Yeah, you may go now." _

_Before she left the room she said thank you to everyone and once again she's faced her mother who was like a splitting image of her._

"_Thank you mom" Shelby was shocked hearing those words, her daughter knew, she knew and she called her mom. Shelby was teary eyed when she pulled her daughter into a bone crushing hug._

"_How did you know?"_

"_My fathers told me everything about you."_

"_Oh" she simply said._

_When they pulled away she was already crying and Rachel was smiling at her._

"_I never imagine this thing would happen."_

"_Me neither" Shelby was smiling now._

"_Why?" she asked curiously._

"_You look exactly like me when I was your age."_

"_Oh, but you were definitely taller."_

_Shelby giggled._

"_We have all the time to get to know each other; I can't wait to talk to my dads" Shelby stiffened on that thought._

_Rachel seemed to notice her mother's emotion that's why she said "its okay mom, my fathers' wanted me to meet you for a long time but I refused. I told them it would happen if it meant to happen and now here we are."_

_Shelby h__eld her daughter close once more._

"_You don't have any idea how many times I dreamed to do this to you."_

"_I know, I did too" Shelby felt Rachel's smile against her._

"_You need to go now, I'm sure your cousins are there waiting for you." _

"_Okay" Rachel placed a soft kiss on her mother's cheek and turned her heel to leave the room._

"Honey" Rachel went back to the present time and checked her reflection one more time.

"I'm coming" she said to her mother. She stood up and opened the door to see her mother in her Balenciaga dress.

"Mom, you look wonderful" she complimented her mom.

Shelby just looked at her daughter adoringly.

"You too."

"Well, what can I say like mother like daughter isn't it?"

"Pumpkin, are you ready?" it was her cousin Olivia.

"Yes, Livy"

"Wow, pumpkin you gave justice to that Lhuillier dress" Olivia was flaunting her Vera Wang.

"Who would've thought that you would be the famous lawyer defending those undermining stars? I think you should do it the other way around" Rachel teased her cousin, two years ago after Olivia aced the bar exam she became one of the most sought after lawyer in New York. They never imagined that she was the only daughter of the famous Marco Mattingson.

"Yeah right, if you get in trouble I might, but you've been a good girl pumpkin" Olivia said proudly.

"Oh that's sweet."

"Girls, we need to go now, at any moment the men in this family will be shouting" Shelby said.

It was one of the most important days in Rachel's life, they would be heading to Radio City Music Hall for the Tony Awards, the highest award given away for Broadway and this night for the 3rd time she was nominated as Best Actress for her role as Christine in the Phantom of the Opera revival that wrapped up about a year ago.

Currently she was busy with the remake of Funny Girl with none other than Jesse St. James; who could've thought that she and Jesse would become best friends. She found out that Jesse was such a great friend, and she loved him dearly. One more month and they would finish the show and she could finally have the long vacation that she was dying to have. Her management was not pleased on her decision to take a career hiatus but she insisted that for the last 8 years she never stopped working and that this is her chance to have that vacation.

"Here we go, show time" she told her mother who was holding her hand.

"Good luck sweetie, remember whether you get it or not, you're still a winner for us" her daddy Leroy said.

"I know dad, I already won before, and this is just a blessing that I got a nod again" she said to her love ones.

The stretch limp made a full stop already. The first two who got out was her cousins Livy and Damien, who became a celebrity in their own right, followed by Shelby and her dad Hiram.

"This is it, daddy."

"I know sweetie."

Leroy first got out first and extended a hand to his daughter. When Rachel stepped out of the Limo the fans erupted, screaming her name. She stopped for her fans that wanted her autograph and greeted them; she owed everything to them.

For every award giving body, they needed to stop and give some interviews. Her publicist was already there and motioning her to come along.

"You look fabulous, hi Leroy" her publicist said.

"Hello Sammy, you look wonderful yourself."

"Okay, E News Live wants a piece of you."

"Okay" Rachel took a deep breath.

"You know what to do right?"

"Yeah."

"We just have a sighting of Rachel Berry, the lady of the hour."

Rachel walked towards the anchor and greeted them.

"First we would like to know what designer you are wearing."

"Monique Lhuillier"

"It's fantastic."

"Thank you, you look dashing yourself."

"Do you have your hopes up?"

"Seriously no, I'm just eternally grateful for being nominated again, it was fantastic."

'We heard that you started dating one of your co-stars, is it true?"

"If you're talking about like date-date, romantically nope I don't. I'm still single."

"Hear that folks! Rachel Berry is still officially available."

"What about Hollywood? We heard that you got an offer to do some movies right?"

"Yes I have but no I'm not doing any movie right now, I have too much on my plate so to speak."

"Well, we hope we can see you in the big screen someday soon."

"We'll see about that."

"Who's your date for tonight?"

"Got too much going on; my daddy Leroy is my date tonight."

"Your other dad is with your mother right? And we saw your cousins pass by too. So it's a family gathering?"

"Yeah, you can say that, but my uncle and my auntie are not in the states so we are not complete."

"Well Rachel, thanks very much for gracing us with your presence. Good Luck out there, we have some very stiff competition tonight."

"Thank you."

"There you go guys. Rachel Berry, the youngest contender for one of the most coveted awards of the evening, if I may say so her role as Christine in POTO was very moving and she got rave reviews."

"Yeah you could say that, but who knows what will happen later, so you guys better wait for the result."

Rachel walked towards her father, who's waiting patiently for her. When she reached him she hooked her right arm inside her dad's.

"I've been doing these things for the last five years but I've never gotten used to it until now."

"It will be over soon and we can celebrate" Leroy placed a soft kiss on his daughter's cheek.

They found Shelby and Hiram posing for the different photographers, Leroy and Hiram looked at each other with a proud grin.

Rachel continued to pose with her poker face on, whoever looked at her face could read any emotions in there except for her family who knew her so well. Her eyes were scanning the whole Red Carpet; she met some people that she used to work with before and some co-stars on her current play and greeted all of them with her practice smile.

"Rachel."

Rachel heard her name called and when she looked around she saw her old friend Ralph Whitman. They had known each other for 6 years and remained friends all throughout.

"Whitman" she hugged her friend.

"Berry, you look gorgeous."

"You look dashing" she gave back the compliment.

"Hi Leroy"

"Ralph, it's been a long time since we saw each other" Leroy shook the man's hand.

"I know I got swamped up with projects" Ralph said proudly.

"And you my friend, you made it again" Ralph divert his attention to Rachel.

"Thank you, what can I say it's in my genes" she winked at him.

Rachel felt someone looking at her and when she looked behind Whitman she stiffened on who she saw. Ralph seemed to notice her reaction; when he followed her gaze he smiled.

"Sorry, forget my manners, this is Quinn Fabray, a good friend of mine" Ralph introduced them.

"Quinn, this is my very good friend Rachel and her dad Dr. Leroy Berry" he proudly introduced them.

Leroy put his arms around his daughter; he perfectly knew who Quinn Fabray is. Rachel looked at the blonde with no emotion and slightly nodded her head to acknowledge her high school nemesis. It'd been 6 years since she last saw Quinn and the blonde had gotten even more beautiful.

"Honey" it was Shelby who called her. Rachel looked at her mother with worried eyes.

"Its fine mom, we need to go inside now" Rachel looked at her friend with his companion and gave them a wry smile and continued to walk inside Radio City.

Quinn Fabray almost chuckled when she saw Rachel Berry for the first time since the Music Room incident. She was a nervous wreck when her sister asked her to accompany her friend, because she knew as a matter of fact that there would be a huge chance that she would run into a certain beautiful brunette and she did. She'd been dreaming of seeing Rachel Berry again and wanted to apologize for everything that she put the star through but she wasn't given a chance at all.

Quinn and Ralph also ascended towards the stadium and to her surprise Whitman was sitting next to Rachel Berry but when Ralph saw that she would be sitting next to her old friend he made a switch which resulted with Quinn sitting next to Rachel Berry. She was about to refuse but Whitman already positioned himself at his supposed seat.

Quinn sat next to Rachel Berry, whose face was very much unreadable just like every magazine that she'd been a cover for. She couldn't confess to Santana and Brittany that she was a huge fan of Berry. That's why she became a professional photographer since she wanted to have a chance to work with the brunette. When she learned that Berry would be the new cover of the magazine that she worked for a couple of months ago she was ecstatic, hoping and praying that she would be the one who got the assignment for the shoot but to her dismay the Director of Photography took it himself and she was assigned to cover the Paris Fashion Week. She wasn't able to meet the brunette since the day the photo shoot was scheduled she was on the plane heading to Paris.

Quinn Fabray was already making a name for herself in the world of Photojournalism. She'd been in the field for almost 4 years now. Aside from working in elite fashion magazines she had her own studio in Los Angeles and she's about to open her branch in Manhattan.

Quinn took a deep breath which solicited a frown from Rachel; the brunette was looking at her directly in the eye with a concerned look. Rachel didn't need to speak it out loud she already knew it.

"I-I'm fine" way to go Quinn you're stuttering, she muttered to herself "I'm just not comfortable to be in this gathering, I'd prefer to be backstage and taking pictures of the stars" Quinn said timidly. Rachel just looked at her and nodded, signaling an acknowledgment of what she had just heard.

Quinn never expected that Rachel would change that much, well it's been 8 years so much could happen in that time span. She tried to be comfortable with Rachel around but she just can't; all she wanted to do was to look at the brunette and patronize the beauty in front of her.

Rachel was getting bored as she never like awards night but she needed to be there, she'd rather go back to her place and slid under the covers and watch the rerun of How I Met Your Mother.

"Mom" Rachel said.

Shelby looked at her daughter curiously and said "yes sweetie?"

"What time is it?"

"It's already past 9, a few more minutes they will give the award for best actress. Just sit tight okay" Shelby placed a kiss on her daughter's forehead.

The host of the show went back to the main stage to introduce the presenter for the Best Actress category.

The Presenter took the stage and paused in the middle, they started announcing the nominees with an excerpt of their performances.

"Our last nominee is no stranger to this category, she is the youngest star in Broadway History who took home 2 consecutive Tony Awards as Christine in Phantom of the Opera."

The spotlight went on Rachel and she gave her genuine smile and send a flying kiss to the presenter.

"Okay here we go" the presenter said.

"The winner for Best Actress, oh third time is a charm, Rachel Berry" the crowd went wild with the result.

"Rachel was flabbergasted by the result; she put her hands on her face and stood up. She gave a quick glance to Quinn who was smiling happily at her and Rachel smiled back genuinely then hugged her whole family. She stopped at the first row and received a hug from Jesse St. James and mouthed "you nailed it again."

When Rachel took the stage and received her 3rd Best Actress award she took a deep breath and eyed the audience. She waited for the audience to settle down and began her speech.

"Wow, third time is a charm. I only dreamed for this to happen one time not 3 times, but it did. My BFF Jesse St. James told me once I was a dork, and I guess I am. There are a lot of people to thank for this but I'll say this over and over again, Downright, Liverfool, Van Dooren you guys practically a member of my family without you I will not be here, I love you guys so much. This is the first time I attended the Tony with my whole family, My dads Leroy and Hiram, my mom Shelby, my man whore cousin Damien, my frigid Queen cousin Olivia and to my uncle Betty and uncle Marco who're not here. I love you guys to the moon and back" once again the crowd went wild with her speech.

"I never prepare any speech since I want to be spontaneous, being an artist is something that I dreamt of, if it weren't for my former team mates who put me through hell when I was in high school I wouldn't be here, if it weren't for them I wouldn't work as hard as I could possibly have to prove to them that I can make it through" she looked at Quinn who's guilt was very visible all over her face. "but it's all the past now, I would like to thank each and everyone who made a difference in my life, and Quinn Fabray thank you for being here, and to all the people who hate and love me I dedicate this award to all of you. Lastly I would like to share this glorious day to my co-nominees I hope one day I can work with you guys, I'm such a fan. Again, thank you so much and enjoy the rest of the evening" with that Rachel turned her heel and descended towards backstage, even backstage she could hear the sound of people applauding; it was the last award to give away so the show was over.

When she reached the backstage a lot people congratulated her, she knew most of them but she's not really that enthusiastic to socialize. After a few minutes she saw her family waiting for her with huge grins visible on their faces. It will take about a couple of hours more before they can just leave and celebrate in peace. She will have to answer some post-tony-award interview questions and the likes and she needed to make an appearance at some of the parties that the other celebrities organized. The only motivation that she had was in about a month she was heading somewhere for her highly anticipated vacation.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter ****2**

Rachel was exhausted when she decided to go back to her house; she'd been surfing for almost 2 hours off the coast of Vera Cruz in Mexico. She'd been staying in Mexico for 3 days now. Since the final curtain call of Funny Girl 7 months ago, she had flown right away to New Zealand. She had stayed there for a month then flew to Italy and stayed there for couple of months, taking crush courses in Culinary; from Italy she stayed for a couple of weeks in Majorca, Spain then she flew to Morocco and stayed there for a couple of weeks.

It was her last 3 days in Morocco when she decided to visit South East Asia. She went to Singapore first and it was a very small country but she stayed there for a week, from there she traveled by train to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia and spent another week. A Couple of weeks in Bangkok, Thailand, followed then she decided to go to South Korea. When her family learned that they also decided to come with her. They all stayed in South Korea for one month because they couldn't get enough of the beautiful views and the people were fantastic.

Their last night in Korea was a blast, they ate every food that had become their favorite and played every board game that they liked. They even sung along on a Korean Karaoke. By noticing some scenery on the videoke is how Rachel ended up in Vera Cruz. When she asked everyone if they were familiar with the place her cousin Damien said it was in Vera Cruz, Mexico and to everyone's surprise he owned a place right next to the exact location that she liked. They also found out that it was Damien's secret solitude every time his world turned upside down and no one knew about it until that night.

Rachel sat down on the shore and put down her surfing board; she looked at the beauty in front of her eyes and took a deep breath.

"Three more weeks" she said to herself.

When the sun made her skin ache she decided to go back to Damien's place to take a long shower. She realized she hasn't eaten anything since she woke up except drinking a cup of coffee.

Quinn Fabray was not having the brightest day of her life, the night before when Santana and Brittany invited her over for dinner she forgot her car keys inside her house and to her dismay had locked her front door. She called the locksmith but to her dismay it was late and they would open at 8 am the next day. She decided to spend the night at Santana's and Brittany's place. She couldn't sleep that night because she had a lot of things to think about. When she woke up it was already 9 am and she incessantly cursed herself for being too irresponsible.

"Hey Blondie, enough of your cursing. It's too early" Santana snapped at her.

Quinn just rolled her eyes and pulled out her phone from her purse and dialed the locksmith number.

"Yeah, Hi, I'm Quinn Fabray, I believe you already have my details, can you come now? What, 11 am? Couldn't it be earlier? Yeah, I know it's already 9 am but I need to get my stuff because I have a photo shoot at 12 noon. Okay that will work for me thanks anyway" Quinn hung up feeling even more frustrated.

Brittany came in with another mug of coffee in her hand and handed over it to Quinn.

"Thanks B."

"You're welcome" Brittany said while turning on the TV.

Santana sat beside her girlfriend and placed a chaste kiss on the blonde's lips.

"What are you going to watch? Its 9 am. "Quinn asked.

"Just checking the news, who knows they probably have some news about Rachel Berry so you will not be so grumpy anymore" Brittany teased her.

"I'm not grumpy" she defended.

"Yeah right, since the Tony Awards incident Q, you've been acting so weird. You even broke up with your girlfriend when you found out that Berry will be on hiatus for a while."

"Breaking up with Lily is not any concern of yours" Quinn scowled.

"Whatever your reason on breaking up with her, I will only believe one thing, that you're so gay for Berry" Santana retorted.

"I'm not gay for Berry" she said firmly.

Santana just rolled her eyes and put her free arm around her girlfriend.

"That's why you've been watching Funny Girl every week just to see her, considering you have connections to meet her backstage."

Santana was right, since Rachel had gone on hiatus and no one knew where she had gone Quinn had gotten cranky. Since the incident at the Tony Awards she never had gotten a chance to talk to Rachel Berry, she tried but the brunette had her ways to become invincible. She tried to pull some strings to get information but none of them knew where Rachel Berry was. She's was not that gutsy to ask any member of the diva's family to get some info, and besides what would she say to them? That she was sorry for making Rachel life's a living hell in High School, that's so not a good idea. If she could only do something to see Rachel again, she would.

"Quinn, you zoned out!" Quinn shook her head and looked at Brittany with concerned eyes.

"Sorry B, what is it?"

"Look" Brittany was motioning Quinn to look at the TV.

When Quinn looked at the screen it was Olivia Mattingson, Rachel's cousin who was caught up somewhere in Manhattan"

"Hi Atty. Mattingson" the reporter said.

"Hey there" Olivia said, not that interested.

"Do you have a minute?"

"Sure" Olivia just looked at the camera and smirked.

"Can you tell us, when is your cousin coming back? And there are a lot of rumors saying instead of going back to Broadway she's gotten an offer to do a movie. Is any of that true?"

Quinn noticed that Olivia was rolling her eyes; she couldn't help but notice the uncanny resemblance of Rachel to her cousin, which made her miss Rachel even more.

"As for Rachel coming back, I won't tell you, about the movie she was considering it, but there is no concrete decision with regards to that. So if you'll excuse me, I got to run and just wait for my baby cousin to come back. For sure she will grace everyone with an interview for that matter."

"There you go folks, that was Rachel Berry's cousin Atty. Olivia Mattingson" the reporter ended.

Quinn took a deep breath and tried to ease the tension that she'd been feeling for quite sometime now.

'Q, why don't you go on vacation? It will do you good for sure" Brittany suggested.

"Where should I go?" Quinn said tiredly.

"Go to Vera Cruz, my uncle has a beach house there. At least you will be alone there, to think about what you're going to do with your life and your suppressed feelings for Berry" Santana said seriously. She hated seeing her best friend looking so miserable.

"I don't know S, but I'll think about it" said Quinn.

Almost a week after her conversation with Santana and Brittany, Quinn finished up her last project and told her boss she would be gone for a month, she needed a break and luckily for her, he understood it. The former cheerio took the offer of her friends and flew to Vera Cruz, she was hoping when she got back in LA things will pan out for her and she needed to get her mind off about a certain brunette.

It was Sunday morning, her second day at Santana's uncle's house, Quinn was sipping her coffee on the balcony facing the glorious beach of Vera Cruz. There were not much people swimming as it was only 5:30 in the morning and she woke up early, she'd planned to surf at a very early time so she will suffer little or no sunburn.

She stood up to get her surfing board that she bought yesterday when she arrived at one of the Sports Centers in Vera Cruz. Quinn was all geared up when she walked on the shore when she heard that voice that she'd been dying to hear for a few months now. She closed her eyes and listened again, she wanted to make sure that she wasn't delusional, and then she heard the voice again. She slowly opened her eyes and followed the voice that she'd been hearing and she thanked God for seeing Rachel Berry about 5 meters away from her. Rachel was talking to some vacationers too; the brunette was also geared up to surf. Quinn waited too long as Rachel moved fast to the water and readied herself.

Quinn forgot about the surfing, she was merely enjoying the view in front of her eyes. She saw Rachel fall down from the board and get on board again, she never surrendered, after like almost an hour Rachel placed her surfing board on the shore and swam as if there was no tomorrow. She felt panic when she didn't see the brunette emerging from the water, she waited for a few minutes but to her dismay she couldn't see Rachel, without thinking at all she ran to the water and flung herself into the water. After a minute or two she gasped for air and looked tentatively at her surroundings, when she couldn't see what she's looking for she dove down again.

When she emerged she saw the brunette on the shore sitting near her surfing board; she took a deep breath and tried to ease out. She walked out from the water and contemplated whether she will sit beside Rachel or not.

Rachel was surprised upon seeing Quinn Fabray in Vera Cruz, she'd already noticed Quinn watching her since she arrived, just to prove her point she tried to stay longer under the water to see if Quinn would come to rescue her and she did.

"Quinn Fabray" Rachel said.

Quinn looked down and saw Rachel motioning to sit beside her.

"Hi" Quinn responded timidly.

"When did you arrive here?"

"Hm-j-ust yesterday". Rachel looked at Quinn and smiled.

"I don't remember you stuttering Quinn, well then welcome to Vera Cruz. Enjoy your stay, the people here are very accommodating and nice" Rachel said happily.

Rachel looked at her diver's watch, it said that it was only past 7, it's was early so she could still sunbathe. She lay down on the sand and looked at the sky, it was marvelous. Rachel was absolutely grateful since she decided to wear her dark sunglasses, no one would know if she was looking at them without them knowing. She watched Quinn fidget beside her; she'd been taking deep breaths for the last 10 minutes. Quinn would look at her adoringly, with longing in her eyes and also regret and guilt. She felt sad about Quinn, the mere fact that she knew that Quinn was gay is something to ponder about.

Quinn felt incredibly stupid sitting there and watching Rachel sunbathe, she could just go back to the beach house and do what? She's really getting frustrated. She needed to compose herself and do something about her dilemma. She was about to say something when she heard the alarm sound.

"Oops, that's mine. It's been 30 minutes. I need to get going. Bye Quinn" Rachel didn't wait for Quinn's response. She stood up, took her board and walked towards her place which was basically next to Quinn's place.

Once again Quinn felt that fate was against her. She couldn't do anything about it now; she had lost her change yet again. She stood up and walked towards the house that she occupied.

Later on that day Quinn was exuberant preparing a vegan cake for Rachel, the idea popped in her head and now she's totally doing it. When everything seemed to be perfect she left her place and walked toward Rachel's place.

She tentatively pressed the intercom and after a few minutes, she heard Rachel voice before the screen lit up and showed the brunette's face, who looked like she just woke up.

"Hey, Quinn."

"Hi Rachel, sorry to wake you up, Hmm- I made a cake and was wondering if you'd like some?"

"Oh, that's sweet. Sure, C'mon in" with that the gate flew open and Quinn started waking towards the main door. When she reached the door Rachel was already there dressed in her PJ's and Wicked vintage T-Shirt.

"C'mon in" Rachel said with a groggy voice.

"Thanks" Quinn eyed the whole place; it was state of the art. Quinn followed Rachel to the kitchen and saw a middle aged Mexican woman cooking.

"Quinn, this is Soledad, she's like my grandma" Rachel placed a kiss on Soledad's cheek.

"Nice to meet you Soledad" instead of shaking her hand Soledad pulled her into a hug. This solicited a chuckle from Rachel.

"Minerva, can you give us some coffee?" Rachel called out to the other housemaids, who looked younger than them.

"Si, Señorita."

"Where do you want to eat? Dining out on the Balcony facing the beauty of the ocean?" Rachel asked her casually.

"I think the balcony is good."

"The balcony it is."

They sat across from each other across the round table and looked at the beauty of the sea. It was almost 6 pm already. Quinn thought that they would be eating the cake that she baked; Rachel must have read Quinn's mind.

"It's almost dinner, will eat first, then we will eat your cake" with that Quinn smiled adoringly at Rachel.

After a few minutes the table was set and they started to eat their dinner. Quinn didn't know how to start the conversation; she prayed that Rachel would start talking and overpower her. They shared stories about their experiences in media, as for Quinn who was working behind the camera and Rachel as working in front of the camera.

"What are you doing in Mexico Quinn?" Rachel asked; after their sumptuous dinner they were sitting on the balcony outside Rachel's room.

"I'm just exhausted with everything, I felt the need to run away and I am glad that I did" Quinn looked at Rachel.

When Quinn didn't receive any response from the brunette she decided to talk. She was not sure if she would ever be given another chance to talk to the brunette again.

"Listen Rachel, I'm sorry for being such a bitch when we were young. I don't know what else to say; to be honest all I want you to know is I'm sorry for being bad" Quinn looked pleadingly into Rachel eyes.

Rachel looked at Quinn and didn't even know how she would react to it. In all honesty they hurt her yes, but it'd been 8 years. Quinn was right, they were young. She took a deep breath before she answered, seeing the blonde looking so tense and almost teary eyed made her heart sank.

Quinn was looking far away and waited for whatever Rachel wanted to say to her. But she never heard anything as she couldn't force herself to look at the brunette anymore. Rachel had changed a lot; gone was the argyle, plaid and continuous rambling. She decided to stand up and leave but she felt a strong hand gripping her wrist.

"Where do you think you're going, Quinn?" Rachel asked.

Rachel stood up and faced Quinn without releasing her wrist. Rachel took a deep breath and waited for Quinn to speak up.

"Rachel, just let me go home, this was a mistake" Quinn said, almost crying. Rachel crooked her eyebrow with what she just heard and released the blonde's wrist.

"So, you're trying to tell me that you saying sorry were a mistake?" Quinn almost panicked when she looked into the brunette eyes.

"No it wasn't a mistake. I've been dreaming for this day to happen that I could finally tell you how sorry I am."

"So why are you saying it was a mistake then?" Rachel dared her. Quinn was contemplating whether to tell Rachel what was bothering her.

"Quinn, c'mon tell me, I'm aware that I 'm not your friend but you don't have anyone else at the moment. The way I see it, you went here to get your mind out of the gutter. What is it?" Rachel said kindly.

Quinn sat back down in the beanbag and Rachel followed suit.

"I don't know how to say this" Quinn fidgeted. Rachel rolled her eyes and grabbed Quinn's hand and interlaced it with hers. She felt the sudden tension, but when she felt the warm hands trying to comfort her she finally had the courage to say it out loud her deepest secret. Not anyone in their former Glee Club knew anything about it.

"Just say it, Quinn, it will do you good" Rachel smiled at her; God knows how she loved seeing the brunette smile.

"When we found out you left Lima the day after the Music Room incident I felt happy because at least I would be at peace for the rest of the summer. But no one the Club bothered to ask where you were going." Quinn stopped and looked at Rachel who was looking back at her with an unreadable expression.

"Why are you telling me this Quinn, it was 8 years ago" Rachel said remotely. She released Quinn's hand and ran her own hands through her hair.

Quinn felt the tension arise again but she needed to do this.

"I need to say this Rachel, please just listen, please…" Quinn begged Rachel. Rachel looked at Quinn and felt the need to console the distraught blonde. She took a deep breathe and touch the blonde's face which immediately made Quinn shiver thru the touch.

"Okay, we need to go inside my room, my couch is more comfortable that this bag" Rachel stood up and offered her hand to Quinn and they walked hand in hand. They both settled on her couch and Rachel pulled Quinn next to her.

Quinn felt the need to touch Rachel; without thinking she leaned on Rachel and placed her head on the brunette's shoulder tentatively, when she didn't feel Rachel refuse her action she settled in more comfortably.

"It'd been three weeks since we started the summer vacation, I always jogged around the neighborhood and unconsciously I always passed by your house to see if you're there, but days turned to weeks, weeks turned to months and next I knew it was start of class again. I was hoping you would be the first to be in the Music Room on the first day of Glee, but you weren't there." Rachel was just listening; she loved Quinn's voice when the blonde was not saying derogatory things towards her. Rachel felt Quinn snuffle against her shoulder.

She looked at the blonde, removed some strands covering her face and placed a soft kiss in her forehead as if that was the natural thing to do.

"If you don't want to continue its fine, we have time" Rachel said calmly. Quinn smiled at her and felt her heart was about to expand.

"No, I want to continue" Quinn said with longing in her voice.

"Go ahead then" Rachel encouraged her.

"I didn't want to ask anyone since for sure they would give me a strange look, I waited for Mr. Schuester to come and probably he knew something that we didn't know. When he arrived he looked somewhat sad, we thought something bad happened to Ms. Pillsbury. Until he said that you weren't coming back, he also said that a couple of weeks before school started your fathers took your papers from Principal Figgins and you would be studying somewhere in London since you got the role of Liesl in an Off Broadway of Sound of Music. Everyone was shocked upon hearing the news, no one even bothered to say a word until Puck said that we were screwed without you. I couldn't say it out loud, I was happy to know that you were able to make it, but I even hated it more because it left us without our Captain and Lead Vocalist."

"Quinn, I didn't leave anyone in there. I don't have friends, remember?" Rachel said matter of factly.

"We may have not been your friends Rach but we realized how stupid we were when you left, we couldn't find a female lead as equally great. Mr. Schuester was giving up, almost everyday we argued over a sheet of music, Mercedes was a good performer and power but she didn't know anything about the technicalities of singing. A week before Sectionals we got a new member, she was really good Rach, sometimes I imagined that you're the one who was actually there. We work hard, we nailed every competition. It was a silent understanding for everyone that even without you we could win and it was true; without the help of the new female we couldn't have make it that far. But it was too late already; you were too far away already making a name in your own right."

"Quinn seriously, I don't need to know what happened after I left. We all made our choices in life, you made yours, I made mine, and it just happened that when you were young you guys loved to make fun of me. I'm glad you said you were sorry but I already forgave you" Rachel stopped then sat up properly looking straight into Quinn's eyes "You don't have to feel sorry all these years Quinn, I knew that you were looking for me when you made your way to New York. I need to tell you something." Rachel lit up when she remembered the first time she saw Quinn's work.

Quinn just eyed Rachel curiously and nodded her head.

"It was almost 4 years now, it was summer. I was doing Flower Drum Song Revival way back then, when a friend of mine invited me to come over to NYU to visit the Photo Exhibit for amateur photographers. I saw you work, Quinn" said Rachel with some bemusement.

"Which work?" Quinn said, confused.

"The one with the mother and child picture, it was a black and white, I saw your signature at the bottom corner of the frame."

"Oh yeah, I remember!" Quinn said afterwards.

"But I never knew who bought it, I tried to trace the buyer but I couldn't find anyone." Quinn still remembered that day. It wasn't really for sale, but the organizer decided to sell it to her surprise.

"Well, you will never really find it Quinn; it was placed in the safest place at a home in New York." Rachel said eventually. Quinn eyed Rachel with surprise.

"You bought it?"

"Yes I did, and I convinced the organizer that I would even pay extra just to give it to me. But well she sold it to me at market price."

"I thought you were used to saying many words and so on" Quinn giggled.

"No,I don't ramble anymore Quinn."

"Rachel?"

"Yeah?"

"Did you show the picture to the Director of Photography of Vanity Fair?" Rachel felt the tension building up again.

"No, when we had dinner over my house they saw it there hanging on the wall. He got interested and asked me if I knew you, and I said yes" she gauged Quinn's emotions, when it was positive she continued.

"A few weeks after they were covering the show he told me that he needed another photographer. He wanted someone fresh with raw talent; I gave your name immediately. Quinn, if you got it, it's because you were doing the best in your field. I don't need to vouch you to anyone."

"I know, thank you" Quinn said timidly.

Rachel looked at her bed time watch and it said that it was 9:00 pm already. They've been talking for a long time now. Rachel stood up and lied down on her bed. She was looked at the ceiling when she heard her name being called once more.

"Yeah?"

"Why did I never hear you dating anyone before? A real date I mean."

Rachel stood up and walked towards Quinn.

"Why do you want to know, Quinn?" Quinn felt embarrassed. She stood up and walk around Rachel's room.

"Ah, just asking" Rachel smiled amusingly.

"Quinn, I never imagined you being like this, a lot of things happen in 8 years. Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure" Rachel walked towards Quinn and stopped in front of the blonde.

"Why did you break up with your Girlfriend?" Quinn almost fainted with the question, there are only a few people who knew about her relationship with Lily, and her being gay is not everyone's knowledge. Quinn tried to compose herself and avoided Rachel's gaze.

"How did you know about that?" Rachel stopped chasing Quinn and leaned on the wall beside the door.

"It doesn't matter where I got the news. Just tell me, are you really gay or was it just a phase only?" this time Quinn walked towards Rachel.

"It wasn't just a phase; I knew that I was gay since High School. I just couldn't force myself to come out, until now" Rachel just nodded her head, stood up straight and faced the gorgeous Quinn.

"Did you break up with her because of me, Quinn?" Quinn was caught off guard, it's either she deny it or profess her undying love.

"N-nnoo" she said without looking at the diva's eyes.

Rachel smirked and said "I don't believe you" with that Rachel pulled Quinn into a very searing kiss, the blonde gasped at first but when Rachel's kiss became passionate, she responded with more passion. She felt Rachel's tongue seeking an entrance which she gladly welcomed. They stayed in that position for a few more minutes until they felt the need to breathe.

No one bother to speak, the only thing that they could hear was their heavy breathing. Quinn couldn't help it anymore, she kissed Rachel again with urgency and longing, they stumbled until they reached the brunette's bed. Quinn straddled the brunettes' hips and kissed her again; she kissed Rachel everywhere while her hand roamed, savoring Rachel's body.

Rachel felt that she was about to explode, she never got intimate with anyone like this, not ever. She always wanted her first time to be the best and she was willing to give it to Quinn, it's now or never. Rachel sat up and started kissing Quinn on her neck, then went down the peak to the top of her blouse. She heard Quinn whimpering, Rachel was mirroring Quinn's action. Their clothes were scattered on the floor until the only thing that covered their bodies were their underpants.

"Wow" Quinn said after their third round.

"You're insatiable Fabray" Rachel said while cuddling Quinn.

"So you're still not going to tell me that you broke up with her because of me?" Rachel felt Quinn smiled against her.

"I broke up with her because of you. Rachel, I've loved you for a very long time" Rachel looked at Quinn happily when she heard that word and kissed her again.

Quinn waited for Rachel's response to the 3 big words but whatever they may have; she was willing to take it. Quinn looked at Rachel and she was sleeping peacefully.

"I love you Rach, since the first time I saw you perform at your first Broadway show in London" with that she kissed the brunette's cheek and drifted off to sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter ****3**

Quinn woke up alone in bed, she looked around and there was no sign of Rachel. She remembered last night and she couldn't help herself reminiscing the whole thing. She was searching for her clothes when she saw it was neatly folded at the foot of the bed. Quinn began to dress when she smelled the aroma of Mexican Coffee, "Rachel" she immediately thought.

Rachel was sipping her coffee while looking at the beach, all throughout that morning she couldn't wipe the smile off her face.

"Hey" she heard Quinn's voice.

"Hey, yourself" Rachel said amusedly while handing over another mug to Quinn and gave her a chaste kiss.

"Wow" Quinn said.

"Wow" Rachel said while giggling.

Rachel put down her coffee on the table behind her and pulled Quinn closer. Quinn placed both her arms around Rachel's upper body after placing her mug down.

"Did you really mean what you said?"

"Yeah, every word of it" Quinn said passionately.

"I'm not talking about how you love me, I'm talking about London" Rachel removed some strands of blonde hair covering the beauty of her face.

"Oh God, you heard that?" Quinn said while closing her eyes, her action soliciting some giggles from Rachel.

"Yeah, I did."

"It was senior year; I didn't attend the commencement ceremony since graduation day was opening night of your first Broadway Show in London" Quinn confessed. Rachel could not believe it, so she was not hallucinating when she saw Quinn in the front row of the audience, she was really there. Rachel laughed at the memory when she told her mother about it; they said she'd gone mad.

Quinn looked at the woman she loved with curiously; the bliss that came from being around Rachel's aura made it hard not to laugh along.

"Care to tell me why you're so happy?" Rachel stopped laughing for a while but her smile was still there.

"It means I'm not hallucinating, that very day I swear I saw you, but my whole family said I'd gone mad. Right after the show I ran to the audience's entrance but I couldn't see you anymore. That's why I let them believe I agreed with them when they said that I had gone mad."

Rachel pushed Quinn to the edge of the table and let her sit there so she was positioned between the blonde's legs.

"So you saw me?" Quinn said teasingly.

"Yeah, I did" Rachel claimed Quinn's lips once more into a very heated kiss that led not only to making out.

Quinn blissful, she never imagined that she could be this happy. Yes, she was worried but she didn't want to think about the future right now, she was just enjoying every moment with Rachel. That day they never left Rachel's bedroom until late in the afternoon. Rachel just instructed Minerva to serve their food on the balcony. They made love on every surface of Rachel's bedroom, and according to Quinn the best one was inside the bathroom, they stayed in the bathroom for almost 2 hours savoring each other's body.

It'd been two weeks since Quinn arrived in Vera Cruz and a day after her arrival she ended up in Rachel's bed. She couldn't bring herself to ask Rachel about what kind of relationship they have, she just can't. She's terrified at what the brunette might say.

"Hey gorgeous" Rachel said, kissing her on the nape of Quinn's neck. It was the most sensitive part of her body.

"Hey" Quinn turned her head to face Rachel. They were in her kitchen; she was preparing something to eat.

Rachel pulled out one of the stool chairs and settled herself while watching Quinn.

"How you've been?"

"You mean after the hour that I didn't see you?" Rachel grinned with the thought.

"I guess" Quinn stopped chopping the carrots and looked at Rachel lovingly and pulled the brunette in for a soft kiss, which Rachel immediately responded to.

"I'd take that as "Yes Rach, I have been wonderful"" Rachel said while imitating Quinn's voice.

"God, Rach, you're so full of it!" Quinn said afterwards.

Rachel helped Quinn to prepare their meal. Once everything was settled they ate their meal in peace but their never let go of each other's hand.

"I've only got one more week" Rachel said, her head placed on Quinn's lap. Quinn felt anxious; this was what she'd been afraid off. Rachel was going back to her world and she would be sulking for the rest of her life.

Rachel felt Quinn stiffen; she held Quinn's hand and interlaced their fingers and kissed them one by one.

"Can we just make the most of it?" Rachel pleaded. Quinn felt her eyes getting wet; Rachel didn't want to see her again after this. How could she?

"Sure" she said with a strain in her voice.

For that one week they did everything together, surfing, swimming, eating at their favorite restaurant, make fun of each other, and talked about their lives and many more subjects. But they never talked about what they are; Quinn was beginning to accept the fact that this was just a phase for Rachel. The brunette never talked about her personal life, every time they touched that issue Rachel was very evasive, she didn't even know if Rachel was gay. Her head was about to explode with every assumption that she had, she couldn't get her mind out of the gutter. Today is that day, it's been almost a month, and Rachel is going back to where she belongs, she wanted to ask the girl about what's going to happen to them but she just can't, she has no right.

"So here it is" Quinn said, while waiting at the airport. She was looking keenly into the brunette's eyes just to see if there were any emotions there.

"Yeah, this is it" Rachel face was still unreadable and Quinn was becoming frustrated.

"Quinn, are you coming home soon?" Rachel asked curiously.

"Yeah, I only asked for a 1 month vacation and it's almost over" Quinn said sadly. Rachel just nodded.

"Don't be sad and don't sulk about things, Quinn. If you get lonely just remember what we had here, because being with you here was the best time of my life. I felt alive again" Rachel said with so much emotion, which made Quinn feel even more confused than before.

"Oops that's mine" Quinn was about to cry but she forced herself not to; she had a lot of time to herself later.

"I love you" Quinn pulled Rachel into a bone crushing hug.

"I know that" Rachel said and kissed the blonde for the last time.

Quinn arrived at her place and she immediately fell down on her bed and sulked. She didn't need to pretend anymore that she was hurt. She only had one more week for her vacation but she decided to stay more. She called her boss, but at first he didn't want to allow her any extended time off. Quinn told him that if they didn't grant her request they could expect her resignation, which her boss didn't want to accept.

For the 3 weeks in Mexico, she cried herself to sleep every night. She never received any calls from Rachel or even email. She doesn't want to turn on TV or Google the girl just to get some news about her. She felt helpless, but she needed to compose herself and go back to her life. It's enough she thought. She needed to move forward, if Rachel wanted her she needed to find her herself. Even though it had only been a month she felt it was a lifetime already.

Quinn arrived at her home in LA, she pressed her answering machine and it says "you have 112 messages." She rolled her eyes and started listening to the recording while getting bottled water from the fridge. The calls were mostly from her friends in Glee Club and from work. She was kind of zoning out when she heard a familiar voice, it was Mercedes, and she stood up immediately and replayed the message.

"Hey girl, I heard you were in Mexico, you should've invited me! I saw Kurt the other day and his design got picked up on New York Fashion Week. Artie and Tina are organizing a reunion for the original Glee Club members; it will be 2 months from now. So that's it, I still got a lot of things to discuss though, the girls and I will be meeting over a cup of coffee at the Fox, so can you be there at 16:00 tomorrow?. We found out something about Rachel Berry. Hugs and Kisses" end of message.

What did they find out about Berry? Quinn got ever more anxious, she was trying to move forward and suddenly her friends had some news about that certain female star that made her head explode. She needed to go, but she never said a word to anyone.

She arrived at their rendezvous 15 minutes later.

"Ola mi amiga" Mercedes was the first one to greet her.

"Hey" Santana was looking at her, like always she just nodded her head.

"Hey Q, I missed you!" Brittany said happily.

"I missed you too, B" Quinn said.

"And Santana missed you too" Santana just rolled her eyes.

They settled in and ordered coffee.

"So, the house in Mexico, you shouldn't have come back this early you know that, you looked exhausted" Santana said.

"I miss you too, S"

"Just surfing, Vera Cruz was great" _because Rachel was there. _She wanted to add.

"Good for you then" Santana said.

"Will you be attending the reunion?" It was Mercedes.

"I guess so" she said, non committal.

"So Kurt got picked up on New York Fashion Week?"

"Hell to the yeah" Mercedes said proudly. Quinn knew how hard it was for Kurt to get in the biz, though there were some stars wearing his designs but they were not that famous.

"How did it happen?"

"Rachel Berry wore one of his designs" Santana said.

"She's here in LA?" she asked nervously but was trying to cover it up.

"She was a couple of weeks ago for the GLAAD awards" Mercedes said. Quinn was still confused; Rachel was wearing Hummel's designs?

"How come she wore Hummel's designs?"

"According to Kurt, Rachel Berry's assistant was in his shop about a couple of months ago when Berry was still on hiatus and was interested in his designs. A month after Berry came back; he received a call from her and asked if he could design something interesting for her. So our boy Kurt made his best design for Berry, though Rachel was very professional over the phone. She never even recognized it was Kurt Hummel" Mercedes said.

"So Kurt met Rachel?"

"Nope, her assistant flew in to collect the dress; Berry was just here on the day of the awards night, right after that she flew back. According to media and some gossipmongers, since Rachel came back from her month long hiatus she has become more evasive" Brittany added. All throughout the conversation Santana was just listening and keenly observing Quinn's actions.

"Because of Rachel, Hummel's design got pick up in NYFW, according to Hummel when she received a call from the organizers she was highly recommended to him by an old acquaintance" Santana said, watching Quinn's emotions.

Quinn knew that Santana was watching her but she didn't want to tell anything to anyone.

"Good for Hummel then" she said while sipping her remaining coffee. They talked some more, Quinn was interrogated on what she done in Mexico; after more than 3 hours of catching up they called it a day.

When she arrived at her place she saw an envelope inserted in the hinge of her door. She took it without any interest at all.

She was in her black room to develop the shots that she took in Mexico; she knows they will only bring back her one month affair with Berry since most of the pictures she took were with Rachel. When she finished everything she decided to call it a night; she had an early day tomorrow.

The next day Quinn's schedule was full, she wasn't even able to visit her gallery. Too much things to do and she was thankful with the job that she had since it helped her keep her mind off Rachel. That night when she was about to go to bed she saw the envelope on her night stand, she totally forgot about it. She opened it and her heart started beating faster.

_Hello Quinn,_

_It's been a long time; I know you are already back. I miss you so much, since the day that I came back it was crazy. All I want to do is to elope with you. Anyways I tried to drop by your place but you were not here so I decided to leave this note. I'm leaving early in the morning tomorrow, if you have time to have dinner, please call me at Hilton Hotel, I'll give instructions to them._

_Yours,_

_Rachel_

After reading the letter, she cursed herself for not being interested in the letter in the first place. She didn't even know what to do, she didn't even have her number; if she asks Kurt to give her the number of Berry's assistant he will ask questions and she didn't want to answer the question that she didn't know the answer to.

"How can I be so stupid" she said to herself. That night she fell asleep cursing her stupidity.

A month after she received the note from Rachel she never received anything anymore. She tried to be content on the news about the girl thru media.

When she arrived at her office everyone seemed to be greeting her, it was somewhat weird. It wasn't her birthday today and she hadn't won any awards yet. She reached her office and saw different kinds of flowers in there; it was like a flower shop. There were daisies, roses, chrysanthemums, sun flowers and lilies. She inspected every bouquet but there was no card in them, she was hoping they came from Rachel but to her dismay there was no indication it came from the brunette, she took a deep breath and forgot about the flowers. She decided to put them in one place in her office so she could start working.

She was in the middle of her article when she heard a knock on her door.

"C'mon in" she called, sitting behind her computer. She never looked up at her visitor.

"Just give me a sec, I'm about to finish."

Rachel didn't say a word, she just looked at Quinn. Then she looked at the blonde's office and it was so organized, the flowers that she sent was neatly placed in the corner. She looked at the door to make sure it was locked, and she pulled down the blinds. When she saw Quinn stop typing indicating she was done, she stood up straight as if she was a private facing her general.

"Okay, so—Rachel?" Quinn was shocked seeing the brunette in front of her, who was smiling widely at her.

Rachel just smiled more seeing the look in the blonde's eyes, that's the expression that she'd been looking for.

Quinn stood up and stopped in front of Rachel. Rachel gave some long stem roses to Quinn and Quinn gladly accepted it. They stayed in that position for a while until Rachel grabbed her and pulled Quinn into a very intense kiss which she returned whole heartedly. They were kissing for almost 20 minutes when they heard a knock on the door. Quinn called out without breaking her contact with Rachel.

"It's Matthew" Quinn rolled her eyes; really, her boss had very impeccable timing.

"C'mon honey, open the door" Rachel said, while running her hands through her hair.

Quinn opened the door and let Matthew in.

"So?" Matthew asked the question was directed to Rachel.

"I haven't told her yet, since you have very impeccable timing" Rachel said while grabbing Quinn's hand and kissed them. Quinn felt embarrassed, Matthew knew that she's gay but her boss never saw her PDA.

"Tell me what?"

"Oh, I'll tell you tomorrow over dinner."

"Why not now?" Quinn whined.

"It can wait, though I need to go now, I have a press conference in an hour" the brunette said, kissing Quinn one more time and said "one for the road, and I'll talk to you soon."

Before Rachel left she eyed Matthew and said "you zip your mouth" and kissed him on the cheek.

When Rachel was nowhere to be seen anymore, she faced her boss and went back to her chair behind the table while her boss sat on the visitor chair.

"You knew?"

"Yeah"

"How long?"

"Well, since you guys hooked up in Mexico."

"How?" she asked confusedly.

"Well, when you asked me to extend your vacation, Rachel had already told me you would do that" Quinn couldn't believe what she's hearing.

"Do you love her?" Matthew asked seriously.

"Yes" she said without a doubt.

"Good, I don't want her to get hurt; she's like a daughter to me" Matthew settled back.

"Why are you worrying about her getting hurt? Not me? She never even told me what she felt" Quinn was getting pissed.

"Whoa, easy. I know what your history with Rachel was. I'm one of the few who knew her real deal."

Quinn softened with the though of their "history.

"Yeah, I was awful to her" Quinn leaned back in her chair and massaged her forehead.

"Quinn, Rachel might not have said how she felt about you, but believe me when I say she loves you more than you could even imagine. Let her come to you on her own terms, in the back of her mind she was thinking that you were still the same person that make fun of her when you were young. Good for you though Rachel has a big heart, she does forgive easily, she doesn't believe in holding grudges with someone. Just be patient with her, and good luck tomorrow night" Matthew winked at her before he left the office.

"So you're not going to tell me about it?" Matthew stopped near her door and said 'no'."

Quinn was agitated the whole day; she couldn't concentrate on her job, that day she was shooting the cover for next month's Issue and she had been making mistakes putting wrong lenses on her camera. She needed to concentrate or else she would be doomed; she called for a 10 minute break just to shake it off a little.

She pulled out her phone in her trousers when she felt it vibrate. She looked at the screen and it said private number.

"Fabray."

"I miss you" it was Rachel. Quinn closed her eyes when she heard that voice.

"I miss you" she said sweetly.

"My driver will pick you up at 8 am in your office tomorrow" Quinn rolled her eyes but couldn't help to be excited.

"That's too early and its Friday, I still got to work."

"Honey, I already spoke to Matthew" if Rachel could just see the reaction from the blonde she would be hysterical.

"Where are you going to take me anyway?" she said, resigned.

"Well it's for you to find out" she's about to say something else but Rachel hung up.

That morning she went to her office unusually early, she tried to finish everything before 8; when Rachel's driver turned up she wanted to be already down waiting in the parking lot. She tried to communicate with the driver and somehow bribe him, but it didn't work.

Quinn became worried when they headed to the airport, what is she going to do at the airport? She will kill Rachel this time. She couldn't even anticipate that the girl had come up with a scheme like this from inside that midget figure. When she reached the airport one of the ground stewards approached her.

"Are you Quinn Fabray?"

"Yes I am."

"Please follow me" Quinn followed the steward until they reached the VIP departure area.

"Wait here" the steward said. Quinn just looked around then she saw a young looking executive approaching her.

"Quinn Fabray?" She didn't know how many times she was going to answer the same question.

"Yes I am" she said.

"I'm Monica Lombard, Rachel's Assistant. Please come with me."

"Look Monica, I appreciate this kind of effort but I will not come with you unless you tell me where we're going" she said firmly.

Monica looked at her closely, trying to gauge if she was really saying that. When she seemed somewhat satisfied she pulled out her phone and dialed, Quinn guessed it was Rachel.

"Yeah, hold on a sec, it's for you."

"Hello."

"Baby, go with Monica please" it was Rachel.

"Rachel, what on earth am I doing at the airport? I though it was going to be a dinner or something?"

"Yeah, it will be dinner, since when you get here it will be dinner time."

"Oh God, you're in New York" Quinn said tiredly.

"Honey, just do it, please. I'm sorry I wasn't able to call you last night, I got tied up with my schedule; for what it's worth I already cleared it for the whole weekend to be with you" Quinn couldn't help but smile with the idea.

"Okay then, I'll see you tonight. I love you" she waited for a response but she still didn't get any.

When Quinn reached JFK she was ushered by Monica to Rachel's apartment. It was huge, state of the art; the brunette was living in the penthouse of one of the most expensive places in Manhattan. Monica ushered her to the quest room.

"If you need anything just call okay, the driver will be here at 7:30 to pick you up, everything that you need is in this room. That box also contains the dress that you will be wearing tonight" Monica informed her.

"Monica" she called.

"Thanks."

"It's no problem, since she came back from her hiatus I never saw Rachel so happy and I knew you're the reason why she's like that" Monica smiled at her for the first time.

"I'm sorry about earlier, I just didn't trust you. But when I saw how you softened when Rachel talked to you I knew that you loved her. Just do me a favor though will you?"

"Anything" Quinn said.

"Rachel is a keeper, she's never had any romantic relationship with anyone; she's been waiting for this to happen and it did. Don't screw up because if you do I will hunt you down, understand?" Monica said seriously. Quinn felt the seriousness of Monica's threat and unconsciously nodded her head.

It was 7:15 and she was all ready to go. Quinn already made a mental note not to do something stupid even though her whole heart and mind was about to stopped functioning. At exactly 7:30 the driver turned up and she was being ushered away in a limo. She lived in New York during her college days but she never got tired of seeing the big apple at night.

The driver stopped in front of an Italian restaurant somewhere downtown, she noticed that there were some paparazzi camping outside, she couldn't help but smile at the thought, they were all waiting for Rachel to turn up but knowing Rachel, and she could easily evade them.

The restaurant was very cozy yet intimate; there were numerous people on the scene, when she turned to look she felt that a lot of eyes were looking at her. She almost fainted when she saw Leroy and Hiram Berry approaching her.

"Hi, Quinn."

"Hello Mr. Berry" she said acknowledging them.

Hiram Berry placed his arm around Quinn's shoulder when he noticed that she was almost hyperventilating.

"Rachel is waiting for you" Leroy told her. The couple ushered her to the long table, it was a family affair. Olivia and Damien were sitting across from each other, so that's her parents she guessed. Shelby was sitting beside Olivia; she almost fainted when she saw Matthew sitting across from Shelby. Her boss smiled at Quinn when he saw her. There was one vacant seat between Rachel and Shelby; it could mean only mean one thing, she was sitting between them.

When Rachel saw Quinn she stood up and kissed her in front of everyone. She felt dizzy with what's going on but she continued to play along. Rachel pulled out a chair for her and the brunette's father settled across them.

"I believe we can eat now, right?" Leroy announced to everyone.

"Yes dad, we can. And I would like to officially introduce to all of you Quinn Fabray" Rachel said proudly.

All throughout the dinner Quinn was a nervous wreck. She was thankful that Rachel's family was so accommodating, and was annoyingly nice. Quinn noticed how sweet Rachel could be, the girl was very much attentive to her every need; once in a while they were touchy feely but not vulgar, they seemed to be contented on what they had. She can't admit it yet but she knew she's having a good time with the Berry's.

Rachel stood up and excused herself to everyone and placed a chaste kiss on Quinn's lips. She looked at the brunette questioningly but Rachel only gave her a huge grin and said "just enjoy it."

"Are you okay?" she heard Shelby asking her. She looked at the woman beside her.

"Yeah, I guess."

"Just hang on there, I know my daughter loves drama, but it will all be worth it" Leroy said to her. Matthew was looking at Quinn amusedly.

"Sweetie, stop teasing Quinn, this is her day" Shelby said to her boyfriend. When she heard the endearment she was already smiling.

"So you guys are together?"

"Yes we are" the couple said in unison.

"For how long" she asked.

"Almost 2 years" Matthew said.

"Quinn honey, you're working with him right?" it was Marco, Rachel's uncle.

"Yes, but this man is very secretive" she complained.

"Honey, you are too, remember?" Matthew teases back.

"So Quinn, how long have you been in love with my baby cousin?" Damien asked. There you go, the interrogation, she thought.

"I wasn't sure when exactly. Since she left McKinley I was kind of looking for her, but I didn't realize it until I saw her performance during the summer of Junior Year in France in that Off Broadway Production. I thought it was just a phase but when I became addicted I was followed her career ever since. Her Broadway debut in London was the exact date of my graduation, I chose to be in London to see her first performance as a Broadway Star. From then on I knew that it wasn't a phase, I knew that I had fallen in love with this annoyingly talented girl" Quinn waited for any response but all she heard was OH's and ah's.

"So she was not hallucinating that day when she told us she saw you" Olivia stated while sipping her tea.

"Hey everyone" it was Rachel's voice on the microphone. Quinn look in Rachel's direction and the girl was looking at her intensely.

"Since I came back from my hiatus I haven't performed anywhere yet. When I left it was like a silent decision that I would not do Broadway again, but things have changed now. Quinn, I know you're so confused right now, but I will give you all the answers to your questions if you let me. I want this day to be very special for you and me, that's why I invited all my closest friends in the industry and my family. This song is for you" Rachel settled in front of the piano and started playing her song for Quinn.

Quinn felt shivers go all over her body; Rachel never broke eye contact with her, even when the girl started playing. When Quinn heard the intro of the song, she gasped because it was her favorite song, She had been planning to sing that very song to Rachel but the brunette had beat her to it.

_I've been so many places in my life and time  
I've sung a lot of songs I've made some bad rhyme  
I've acted out my love in stages  
With ten thousand people watching  
But we're alone now and I'm singing this song for you_

I know your image of me is what I hope to be  
I've treated you unkindly but darlin' can't you see  
There's no one more important to me  
Darlin' can't you please see through me  
Cause we're alone now and I'm singing this song for you  


_you taught me precious secrets of the truth withholding nothing  
You came out in front and I was hiding  
But now I'm so much better and if my words don't come together  
Listen to the melody cause my love is in there hiding_

I love you in a place where there's no space or time  
I love you for in my life you are a friend of mine  
And when my life is over remember when we were together  
We were alone and I was singing this song for you

When Rachel hit the last note, Quinn was in tears; she couldn't help it anymore, she was sobbing. Shelby wrapped the blonde in a loose embrace. But Rachel was not yet done, she started speaking again.

"Honey, I'm sorry I made you cry" she said, which solicited a collective oh and ah.

"Quinn, I know I'm not been very vocal on how I felt for you but meeting you in Mexico was the best days of my life. When I found out that you loved me I was elated; it was much better compared to winning the Tony Awards. I never had a single romantic relationship before because I believed we were meant to be together. I love you Quinn Fabray to the moon and back" Rachel stood up and walked towards Quinn. She made a short stop at her Dads chair and collected a jewelry box.

Rachel knelt in front of Quinn, took her hand and popped the big question.

"Quinn Amanda Fabray, will you marry me?" Rachel asked with all her heart. Quinn felt her heart was beating out of her chest.

"No" she said, but when she saw the devastated look in Rachel's eyes she smiled and cupped Rachel's face and said "I just want to feel how it will sound but yes, I will marry you."

Rachel invaded her personal space and kissed her lovingly. The crowd was erupting and Rachel's family was ecstatic. Quinn was never sure how happy she could be until now; the fact that Rachel loved her was already something but the brunette asking to marry her, it was crazy.

After all the congratulations and best wishes were over they left the restaurant; once they got out all the paparazzi was taking pictures already but Rachel's Security was very good. The paparazzi weren't able to get a single shot of the Broadway Star's face.

Once they were inside their Limo, Rachel didn't waste any time; she pulled Quinn into a very heated kiss, Rachel making sure she had marked her everywhere. Which made Quinn totally hot; she never imagined that Rachel could be so ravenous. Rachel's hands were roaming all over her body until they reached the intended direction. Quinn felt her body was set on fire; she needed Rachel inside her bad. It seemed Rachel felt Quinn's needs; without any hesitation she inserted two fingers inside Quinn's folds and kept thrusting until she felt that Quinn was about to come. She stopped for a while which solicited a whimper from her fiancé.

"Geez, baby, do not stop. I'm so near" Quinn begged her; Rachel didn't move her fingers but kissed Quinn hard. Quinn was getting crazy so she started to move up and down to create friction with Rachel's fingers but Rachel had another plan. She wanted Quinn to come hard for her; she watched her fiancé's frustrated expression and kissed every part of her face. Rachel was getting anxious too, she was all worked up and she need her release too but first she was going to give Quinn the best orgasm of her life. Without any hesitation Rachel added another finger and started thrusting hard again. After a few more strokes Quinn came harder than she could imagine was possible.

Quinn collapsed against Rachel; she tried to compose herself but she was not sure she could walk. When they felt the limo stop and Rachel's driver announced that they were already at the brunette's place. They straightened their clothes out before they exited the limo; Quinn needed the support of Rachel's toned arm to walk properly. While heading up to Rachel's penthouse she already had the perfect plan to repay Rachel. Quinn wanted to make sure that the brunette would not be able to stand up the next morning.

When Rachel closed the main door Quinn shoved her against the wall and started undressing her using her teeth.

"Honey, we have all weekend to do this" Rachel said between panting.

"I don't have all weekend, I need you now" Quinn said between kisses.

Both of Quinn's hands were touching every part of Rachel's body; when her hands felt the perfect abs of her fiancé she stopped and looked at Rachel. She loved being taller than the girl. Rachel eyes were even darker; they gave off different emotions, but one thing she knew for sure. The brunette loved her, and the mere fact that she was her first time gave her enough confidence.

"I love you" Rachel said in a hoarse voice.

"I love you more" Quinn said. Her hands were already on the brunette's folds and it was soaking wet. "Take me" Rachel said to her.

"My pleasure" she said.

Rachel was getting her support from Quinn; if Quinn fell down she would fall down with her. She was very near the edge now; she keep saying to her fiancé don't stop. On the last stroke of Quinn's hand Rachel came harder than she ever had before. They both fell down on the floor laughing.

"As much as I want to stay here, I don't want to get sick. Let's move to my very much more comfortable bed" Rachel stood up and gathered her dress that was scattered on the floor.

"I would love that too."

That weekend the couple never left Rachel's penthouse; they made love on every surface of Rachel's house. Currently they were cuddling together watching a Bones rerun in the brunette's bed.

"Baby" Rachel said, while playing with Quinn's hair.

"Yeah?" she said without looking away from the TV.

"Will you move in with me?" Quinn looked at Rachel; she wanted to know if the girl was serious.

Quinn turned off the TV and sat up properly.

"Here in New York?" Quinn asked.

"Yes, but if you want I can move to LA. I think I can adjust there."

"Don't you think it's too fast?" Quinn said without thinking. Rachel stood up trying to pacify her emotions.

"Quinn, we're not young anymore, it's not too fast."

"Rachel, we hooked up about 3 months ago. After that you brought me here and proposed."

"Which you said yes"

"Yeah I did" Quinn said, about to hyperventilate.

"I will have a press conference tomorrow, I will tell everyone about us" Rachel said firmly. Quinn felt herself stiffen. Oh God, no one knew in her family that's she's gay and engaged to Rachel Berry.

"Oh God, this is not happening, my parents, they don't know that I am gay and my friends. Rachel, they don't know that I'm with you, how can I explain it to them?" she was about to panic.

Rachel tried to sooth Quinn with kind words but to no avail Quinn was still panicking.

"I- I can't do this, I'm not ready… sorry Rachel. I need to leave" Quinn said while getting her stuff. The blonde paid one more look at Rachel, but Rachel's face was unreadable, but the time that Quinn had spent with the brunette she already knew that Rachel was enraged.

"Rachel, say something" Quinn begged, getting crazy about the quietness of the room. Rachel just looked at her with so much hurt.

"You want to leave, Quinn? Is that right? Just like that, you don't want to fight for it. You never change, you're still the 16 year old mighty Quinn Fabray, and you'd rather die than be with me" Rachel said while changing her clothes.

"Rachel, please try to understand" Quinn pleaded.

"Understand what? That you said yes? Then now you don't want anyone to know? How is that?" the brunette said with much agony.

"I don't know Rach, I want to be with you but I'm not ready to tell anyone yet" Quinn said, defeated.

"We're engaged for crying out loud, why did you say yes if you didn't really mean it?" Rachel was shouting.

"Don't answer that" Rachel shook her head and walked towards the door. Quinn was about to get hold of her but Rachel avoided the contact.

"Be sure you're not here anymore when I come back. I will send the driver to pick you up and take you to the airport. You've gotten used to hurting me Quinn. I will not let that happen again."

"I'm sorry Rachel" with that Quinn just continued sobbing on the floor.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter ****4**

Every time she got hurt Rachel withdrew inside herself from everyone and focused her whole energy into the matter at hand. That night she called her manager and decided she would sign up for the movie that she had been considering. Rachel had told Quinn before that she wanted to stall for a while since she had more important matters to attend to that concerned their relationship. The blonde was out of the picture now; the only reason that she didn't sign right away was the shooting location was somewhere in Europe and she doesn't didn't want to be that far away from the blonde.

It had been five months and one week since she last saw Quinn and it was killing her. She tried to call the blonde but Quinn didn't answer any of her calls. Until one day Matthew told her that Quinn had resigned from the magazine. She tried every avenue possible to look for the blonde but she was never successful. Her cousin Olivia told her not to worry about Quinn since the blonde was safe; she realized her cousin had found where Quinn was. Due to her insistent begging, Olivia gave Rachel Quinn's exact location. Rachel flew to where Quinn was at, but when she saw the blonde looking serene she decided not to bother the former cheerleader anymore. If Quinn wanted her she could find her.

Right after their so called argument that night Rachel left her own place and went to her aunt's house since her father was currently staying there. It was Sunday, they were supposed to have lunch with her family but since Quinn got freaked out it would not happening anymore.

_She presse__d the doorbell and waited for someone to answer it._

_Leroy and Hiram were currently in the kitchen preparing the grandiose lunch for the newly engaged couple, they wanted to be the best in laws around. Betty and Marco were making dessert; Betty was sifting the flour when they heard the doorbell rang._

_Marco looked at his wife and said "__are you expecting someone this early?"_

"_No, no one that I know of" Betty said while removing her apron. She was about to leave the kitchen when she heard her daughter's voice saying "I got it."_

_Olivia was singing while walking to the door but she stopped mid air when she saw her baby cousin outside the door looking her worst. Rachel's hair was loosely tied and her eyes were red from crying._

"_What's wrong?" Olivia asked while pulling her cousin into a hug._

"_Everything is wrong" Rachel said, beginning to cry again._

_From the kitchen they heard Olivia's worried voice; without a word they all ran out to the living room to see Rachel cuddling with Olivia. When Olivia saw them, she mouthed "Quinn."_

_When Rachel saw her dads she leaped from her cousin to her fathers; she felt like she was young again and that the only thing that she needed was her father's love and saying that things would be okay. But that was not the case anymore, she was a grown up now and the person that she loved most hurt her again for like the thousandth time since they met._

"_Honey, tell us what happened" Hiram encouraged his daughter to speak._

_Rachel pulled away from her father._

"_It's Quinn, she doesn't love me enough to come out" she said bitterly._

_Leroy and Hiram just looked at each other worriedly._

"_Baby, maybe Quinn is just confused; give her a chance to come to terms with her feelings" Leroy said._

"_I asked her to move in with me, I saw shock in her eyes since her life is in LA. I thought she didn't want to live here in New York so I told her I could move to LA instead, because I can find something there for sure" Rachel said, trying to control her emotions._

"_What did she say?" it was her Aunt Betty._

"_She said it was too fast and she's not ready yet, her family didn't know that she is gay and neither do her friends I presume."_

"_Does she have any friends that she can talk to, if ever?" it was Olivia._

"_I don't know, since we met we never talked about anymore about the people in our past. But I guess Santana and Brittany would be the best choice in case" Rachel said defeated. _

"_Sweetie, where is she now?" Hiram asked._

"_She's at my place; I told her that I would send the driver to bring her to the airport. Dad, why does this hurt so much?" Rachel began to sob again._

"_Because you love her, honey, and you can't let her go. Just give her time, and you'll see everything will fall into place" Leroy told her daughter even though he wasn't certainly sure about Quinn, if Quinn's parents didn't know about her sexuality it would be another issue to deal with._

After that day she was in full gear, she signed the contract with Paramount Pictures to star in a book adapted movie of Bloodline, and she would be staying all throughout Europe for the next 6 months. She had auditioned for the role when she had gotten back from her vacation; when they called her and said she got the role Rachel wasn't sure because of Quinn, because the blonde had said yes to her. She already told her manager she would drop the movie but her manager told her they would put it on hold until she'd really decided to do it or not, since it would be her first film.

Now 6 months had passed, and the movie had wrapped 2 days ago. She told her manager and her family that she would be staying for another 3 days just to relax and then she'd be home soon.

It'd been six months but it felt like yesterday; the people who knew what happened thought she had moved on, since she never talked about it. The last 3 days vacation time that she had she flew to Tuscany and savored the beauty of the place. The place was so romantic if only that certain blonde would be at her side.

She went back inside her cottage when her phone rang.

"Berry" she greeted, while making herself a coffee. She waited for a few more seconds but still no one was answering on the other line.

"Hello, listen, if you don't want to talk can you at least stop breathing like tha-, Quinn?" she wasn't able to finish what she was going to say until she realized how familiar that breathing was.

"Quinn, is that you?" Rachel was hopeful.

"Yeah, hi."

It was a very awkward moment, Rachel wanted to say a lot of things, but she just kept her mouth shut. She would let the blonde talk on her own terms. Rachel heard the blonde clear her throat.

"Rachel, can we meet?"

"I'm in Tuscany, Quinn. I will be back in about 4 days" she said.

"I'm in Milan" Quinn briefly said.

"Oh that, just give me your address. I'll come to you."

There was a pause.

"No, I'll come to Tuscany"

"Okay, I'll see you then."

Rachel checked the time and it was 1 pm already, Quinn would be arriving approximately around dinner time, so she'd better prepare a dinner for two. Rachel was singing all throughout, thinking after six months she would see the blonde again.

Quinn was already at the train station when she called Rachel; it's been 6 months and she missed the brunette terribly. For the last few months she'd been all over the place. When she went back to LA she handed her resignation to Matthew and begged the older man to not tell Rachel right away.

Santana and Brittany were the only friends that she could talk to; even Mercedes didn't know that she had a girlfriend for a few months. She told the story to Santana and Brittany; Santana was speechless but Brittany was ecstatic. She told Quinn to follow her heart, screw what other people might say, and if her family didn't accept her it was not her fault anymore. Since the shenanigans about being pregnant when she was young was a total disaster for her family, what would they think if they found out that she was in love with a girl with two gay fathers. It would be like high school all over again.

Quinn stayed with Santana and Brittany for a few days just to have a clear plan for what she wanted to do. She'd been ignoring Rachel, and she never answered any phone call or E-mails; she didn't want the brunette to have an impact on her decision, she would come to one on her own terms, not because she needed to do it for Rachel. But when Rachel stopped calling her and halted the flow of flowers and E-mails it became more painful to Quinn's thinking that Rachel had already given up. She needed to do it right, she went back to her place and packed her bags, paid her rent in advance for the next 5 months and left LA.

She did visit her family in Cleveland to her parents surprise; she wanted to get it over with and done right away. When she said the word gay her father was in rage, the same rage that she saw when she was younger but the funny thing was she wasn't affected anymore. It had always been like that; her family was dysfunctional to a certain level. She never felt love inside their household, and it was killing her, it should be the first place to learn how to love and care. From Cleveland she booked herself on a flight going to Goa in India; she wanted to clear her head and start anew, so when she finally had the guts to meet Rachel she would be totally refreshed.

Quinn looked at the sky before riding the train and savored the beauty of the sky and she couldn't help but smile. All she could think of was Rachel and nothing more. The only thing that kept her from calling Rachel and begging for her forgiveness was the pictures that they took when they were in Vera Cruz. Unconsciously she took out her laptop while getting inside the train and viewed wallpaper on it. It was her and Rachel in the beach house; Rachel was looking at her directly in the eyes with so much love and compassion while Quinn's hand was possessively wrapped around the brunette's neck.

"Just a few more hours" she thought to herself; with that she closed her eyes with a contented smile playing across her lips.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Hey Guys, it's been a long time! Hope everyone is good. Just got back from my trip and now hopefully back in writing! Enjoy reading!**

**Chapter 5**

Rachel was getting crazy; she wanted to make sure that Quinn would not freak out this time. After like an hour her plan was already solid, all she needed to do was to wait for Quinn and execute it. With that in mind she went outside to prepare the dining table in the backyard garden because in about 30 minutes Quinn would be arriving and she wanted to make sure everything was just right.

When the train made the full stop Quinn stood up right away and found a cab after walking away from the arrivals platform. She was traveling to Rachel's rented farmhouse in the province of Massa Carrara in the Fivizzano area, one of the Sub-regions in Tuscany. The blonde was able to get Rachel's address from Matthew, again she begged her former boss to give it to her after she made a promise that she would never ever try to hurt Rachel again. She gave the driver Rachel's address.

"Hello, do you speak English?" Quinn asked.

"Yes ma'am" the driver said.

"I'm going to this place, can you take me there?"

"No problem, ma'am. I know this place. I drove a beautiful lady there yesterday afternoon" the driver said.

"Rachel" Quinn said to herself and smiled.

"Ma'am?"

"Nothing, please let's go" she gave the driver a genuine smile.

Quinn fixed her eyes on the road as the whole place was gorgeous; it's good for photography she thought.

At the farmhouse Rachel was surprised when she saw an unexpected visitor standing in front of her. When she heard the doorbell rang she was thinking it was Quinn but when she opened the door it was Olivia and her girlfriend Sydney.

"Star of David! What are you doing here?" Rachel said while pulling her cousin and Sydney into a fierce hug.

"We're visiting you, we need a break" Sydney said.

"I've been convincing Livy to go for a vacation but she never even bothered to consider it; when did you tell her to go for a break anyway?" Rachel asked while situating themselves in the living room.

"Just three days ago. I gave her three hours to decide or I was going alone" Sydney said while grinning, quite proud of her accomplishment.

"No way, you are so whipped, Olivia" Rachel teased her cousin.

"I am not whipped!" Olivia denied it.

"Is that so? How come you were able to make a decision to ditch your job for a while? Considering me and our whole family are begging you to take a break."

"It was just perfect timing."

"Right, perfect timing. My cousin is a perfect manifestation of being whipped, just admit it!"

Olivia rolled her eyes while smiling at her cousin and her girlfriend for 3 years. She loved it when two of her most favorite girls in the world were teaming up to tease her.

Rachel and Sydney just shared a look at each another which proved their point and Sydney gladly obliged Rachel with a smile. Rachel changed her gear into acting mode and looked at Olivia with confusion.

"What now?" Olivia asked with a concerned tone in her voice.

"Is she okay?" Rachel looked at Sydney, who was pretending to be in pain.

Olivia acted like an over protective girlfriend as she crossed the distance between them on the couch and settled beside Sydney while touching her forehead.

"Baby, are you okay?" Livy asked with a worried voice.

Rachel couldn't hold it in anymore and burst into laughter.

"Now tell me, my dear cousin, that you aren't just whipped?" Rachel said in a sing song voice which solicited laughter from Sydney.

Olivia went back to her previous position with pouty lips and glared at the two women who were still laughing, she couldn't accept the fact that she's so whipped. She couldn't hold it in any longer as well so she joined the other two in laughter; that was the scene that Quinn walked into.

The first person who noticed Quinn was Sydney; she knew the back story about the two. Her laughter subsided and she looked at Rachel sympathetically; for many years she had loved Rachel because the brunette was like a sister she'd never had. Olivia and Rachel looked at each other and nodded their heads.

"C'mon Sydney, let's leave them alone for a moment." Sydney and Olivia stood up and kissed Rachel before they headed to the bedroom.

Quinn just stood there unsure of what to do while Rachel was eyeing the blonde carefully. Six months later Quinn had somehow gotten even more beautiful; her blonde locks cascaded down her face and she looked refreshed. Rachel thought her hibernation for a while did her good.

"Hey" Rachel said.

"Hi" Quinn responded.

"Take a seat, Quinn" Quinn put down her luggage and sat across from Rachel. She missed her so much, the brunette had gotten even more gorgeous, even if she was simply wearing and shirt and jeans.

"How was your trip?"

"It was good. The taxi driver knew exactly how to find your place" she said.

"Do you want anything to drink?"

"No, I'm fine, thanks any ways."

"Quinn, what are you doing here?" Quinn cleared her throat before she spoke.

"I needed to see you."

"I see."

"I know I've done something really stupid Rachel and I need to tell you how sorry I am. I just want you to know that I still love you, my feelings for you didn't change these past months, but they only grew stronger and what I am saying is I'm ready now. I need to say these things before it's too late" Quinn said, almost pleading.

Rachel was looking keenly at Quinn and she felt that the blonde really meant what she said, they locked gazes for a while until the blonde looked away and down. Rachel was smiling widely inside but she couldn't show it to the blonde, at least not yet.

"Quinn" she started.

"I'm glad you were able to figure out what you really wanted and come out to your loved ones" she waited for the blonde to say something but Quinn was still looking down.

"I'm seeing someone, Quinn" her voice almost faltered with the statement. She saw Quinn slowly pull her head up and meet Rachel's gaze, it was very much visible the different emotion flowing in Quinn's hazel eyes.

It was the nightmare that she'd been avoiding, that the brunette had already given up on her. She's about to explode, but she can't blame Rachel, the first few weeks the brunette kept contacting her but she never even bothered to answer. She closed her eyes to prevent her tears from streaming down.

"I see" Quinn was able to say in a very small voice.

"Are you okay?"

"No, but I'll get by" Quinn said while taking a deep breath. Quinn's mind was racing with different thoughts, like who was the girl that Rachel fell for, she just wanted to know.

"She's a doctor Quinn, just so you know" Rachel said while thinking of Sydney.

"I guess that's great. I think I'd better get going, I told the driver to wait for me in case it didn't turn out well" Quinn stated while standing up.

Rachel watched Quinn walk out the door; she also stood up waiting for the next thing to occur. Her intuition served its purpose again; Quinn stopped at the terrace and looked out at the beauty of the garden. Rachel walked slowly towards Quinn when she noticed that the blond's shoulder was shaking.

Quinn was sobbing.

Rachel felt her heart sink seeing the love of her life in agony. She placed her right arm on the blonde's shoulder and pulled her closer.

"Why is it so painful?" Quinn asked between sobbing.

"Because you love me, silly" Rachel said.

"And you're seeing someone" Quinn said in a very painful voice.

"Yes, I said that" Rachel was smiling.

"Rach, how can I probably move on? If I will be seeing your face everywhere" Quinn complained.

"You don't have to" with that statement Quinn pulled out from Rachel and looked at the brunette's eyes intently.

Quinn looked at Rachel with every question in her eyes; she was shocked when she saw the girls' eyes saying something else.

"No Rachel, I can't do that" Quinn said while shaking her head.

"It'll be fine" Rachel said while smiling. She pulled out her phone secretly and speed dialed her aunts house in New York wherein every member of her family was waiting for the call, except Olivia who will be witnessing what was about to happen.

"You're nuts Rachel, you can't have both of us, it's either her or me" Quinn said in surprise. How can Rachel even think she can share the brunette with someone else? No way, she'll fight for her love.

"Quinn, I'm not nuts, it will be totally fun" Quinn rolled her eyes, she's getting frustrated.

"Yes, you are not thinking straight here. Rachel, I traveled all the way from India to be here with you, to ask you if you would take me back. But like you said you're seeing someone else. I can believe you moved on that fast, it's only been six months Rachel, and you were able to fall for someone else. But the worst thing is, you want me to be your other woman? Where do you get the idea that I would even possibly share you with someone else?" Quinn said while tearing up again.

That was the scene Sydney and Olivia ran into. Olivia looked at her cousin with a questioning glare but all she got was a smile from Rachel and she knew right there her baby cousin had a plan and whatever that was she needed to stay with it.

Rachel walked towards Quinn again and held her hand; as she got older she's not so good with words anymore, she didn't even ramble anymore.

"I just thought about it" Rachel said calmly. Quinn pulled her hands from Rachel and massaged her forehead.

"Oh geez, you're killing me! You're freaking out of your mind!" Quinn said in frustration.

Rachel moved close to Quinn and held her hands again while they sat down on a coffee table which was nearby. Rachel started singing, and when Quinn heard the song she was confused.

Rachel started singing her heart out in front of Quinn.

_Back to you  
It always comes around  
Back to you  
I tried to forget you  
I tried to stay away  
But it's too late_

_Over you  
I'm never over  
Over you  
Something about you  
It's just the way you move  
The way you move me_

_I'm so good at forgetting  
And I quit every game I play  
But forgive me, love  
I can't turn and walk away_

_Back to you  
It always comes around  
Back to you  
I walk with your shadow  
I'm sleeping in my bed  
With your silhouette_

_should have smiled in that picture  
If it's the last that I'll see of you  
It's the least that you  
Could not do_

_Leave the light on  
I'll never give up on you  
Leave the light on  
For me too_

_Back to me  
I know that it comes  
Back to me  
Doesn't it scare you  
Your will is not as strong  
As it used to be_

When Rachel finished the song Quinn was crying her heart out. It was clear Rachel still loved her; she didn't want to think anymore. She pulled Rachel into a very heated kiss which the brunette gratefully responded to. They pulled from each other when they felt the need for oxygen.

"You're seeing someone."

"I'm not" Rachel was grinning.

Quinn looked at Rachel, confused.

"I was just messing around, to see how you would react" Rachel said beaming. Quinn rolled her eyes in a very good natured kind of way.

"Oh God, you're not seeing anyone?" Quinn asked excitedly.

"Nope" with that answer Quinn pulled Rachel again into a bone crushing hug.

"Honey, I need to breathe" Rachel said.

"Sorry, I'm just happy" Rachel looked at Quinn and saw the love and longing ness transcend within her eyes.

"I know" Rachel looked at her cousin and girlfriend, they were smiling.

Quinn pulled Rachel to her feet from the table and looked in her girlfriends' eyes, assuring herself that Rachel was really standing in front of her. She pulled out a small box from her trouser, pulled out a 24k diamond ring and offered it to Rachel.

Rachel eyed Quinn, she never imagined that Quinn would make it up to her; she waited for the blonde to pop the question.

"Rachel Berry, will you be my partner forever?" Rachel looked at Quinn and gave her the sweetest smile.

"Yes Quinn Fabray, I'll be your partner forever" with that answer everyone was shouting and whistling and saying their congratulations over the phone's speaker.

Quinn was shocked hearing other voices than theirs; she also saw Olivia and Sydney smiling happily at them.

"They were listening all throughout this?" Quinn said almost embarrassed.

"Yeah" Rachel was laughing.

"Oh God" Quinn buried her face in the nook of Rachel's neck, which solicited more laughter from everyone.

"It's okay Quinn, welcome to the family" Leroy and Hiram said.

"Bye guys, I'll talk to you later" Rachel said.

Olivia walked towards the couple and greeted them.

"Quinn."

"Olivia."

Olivia was about to say something but Quinn beat her to it.

"I know. I will never, ever try to hurt her again" Quinn said.

"Good to know."

"Quinn."

"Yeah?"

"I would like you to meet Sydney Taylor, my fiancée" Quinn was surprised.

"I didn't know you felt that way, I mean your orientation."

"Oh no not really, but when I met Sydney I became one" Olivia said while she placed a chaste kiss on her fiancée's lips.

"So, when are you getting hitched?" Quinn asked.

"A month from now" Sydney said.

"Wonderful."

Sydney placed her arms around Quinn's shoulder as they were heading inside the house to prepare the dinner.

"Your time will come, Quinn."

"I know, I'm just happy."

"Girl, you should be! You nailed the superstar and she loves you very much; you just don't have any idea how deep that is" Sydney teased Quinn.

"Yeah I guess I do, I have a lifetime to experience it" Quinn said while taking glances at Rachel with so much love in her eyes.

About an hour later the foursome was having dinner at the backyard garden.

If an outsider looked in at the foursome they would see that love was in the air, the stealing glances that the two couples shared with each other as they locked gazes without a word being said, their actions only spoke of their love for one another.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: It's been a long long time! Sorry for the long wait. Big Shout out to my PR Mr. John Knighthawk!**

**Epilogue**

"Morning" Quinn said while kissing her wife's lips.

"Morning" Rachel said while smiling, savoring Quinn's beauty.

Quinn stood up to go downstairs to prepare their breakfast but Rachel grabbed her hand and pulled the blond back into bed.

"Where do you think you're going?" Rachel said while pinning Quinn.

"I need to prepare our breakfast."

"It's still early." The brunette started to place soft kisses down on Quinn's most sensitive body part. Rachel was about to say something else when they heard a 5 year old girl running towards their room.

"Mommy" Arianna shouted from the door.

Quinn and Rachel separated and sat up to meet their daughter.

Arianna jumped in the bed, hugged both of her mothers and placed a sloppy kiss on their cheeks.

"Momma" she said to Rachel.

"Mommy" to Quinn.

"Good morning sweetie" they both said.

"Momma, you have to get up now!"

"Honey, its only 7 am, still early. Go back to bed." Rachel whined to a five year old kid.

Rachel pulled her daughter with her to go back to bed, while Quinn just looked at her two girls.

"Momma, we need to get up. Today is your off day, you don't have anything, and we will go out like you promised."

"I know honey, 5 more minutes please."

" No, Mom, you can't have 5 minutes, we need to get up now, eat our breakfast then go out."

Rachel didn't answer.

Arianna stood up and looked at Quinn; when Quinn smiled Arianna started talking.

"Momma, if you don't get up, I will not talk to you for 24 hours!"

Rachel sat up immediately, knowing her daughter she would do that.

Quinn and Arianna were laughing hysterically, Rachel felt hopeless with the two, and well as the saying goes if you can't beat them join them. She chimed in with the two, which solicited more laughter from their little girl.

After 2 hours they had ate their breakfast and were ready to go outside, it was a busy day in November. Christmas was fast approaching, that's why they promised their daughter that they would do some shopping.

"You ready?" Quinn asked.

"Yep."

"I love you" Quinn kissed Rachel happily.

"I love you more" Rachel responded.

"What did I tell you guys? Don't kiss in front of the minor!" Arianna rolled her eyes.

"Honey, I hate to say this but our daughter is a lot like you when we were younger" Quinn said while laughing.

"Right. That's very cool isn't it? She maybe looked like you except her brown hair, but she got her character from me. Isn't that amazing?" Rachel said proudly.

"I couldn't agree more" Quinn said while sighing with much contentment.

It's been six years since they got married in a very intimate wedding ceremony, since then they have never been apart. Rachel may have been filming movies all over the place but she always made sure that they would not be separated for more than a week. Sleeping alone in a hotel was a very dreadful scene for Rachel. After a year of enjoying their lives together they decided to become a family, with Rachel being the one to carry the baby.

At the time when the wedding was all over the news, no one knew that Rachel was gay. It was like a bomb that exploded in the entertainment world and when Rachel came out, she's getting married. Rachel's popularity was higher than ever now, they were the most photographed couple but Rachel being Rachel, it's hard for them to be photographed together. Even though Quinn was totally okay being photographed, she even found it exiting but Rachel refused every bit of it, she didn't like people making a fuss seeing them together. As for Quinn, her parents learned to accept who she really was, when her father's business hit rock bottom Quinn saved them with the help of Rachel's father.

At first Russel and Judy Fabray couldn't accept the fact that those people that they ridiculed all throughout were the people who would be helping them in their most needed times. Russel Fabray changed his ways; he became humble, loving and supportive. He asked for forgiveness from those people that he hurt, especially to Quinn and the Berry's, as for Judy, she did the same, they weren't alcoholics anymore.

Little Arianna grew up with so much love and compassion surrounding her, every last weekend of the month they traveled back to Ohio to have a family day between Fabray and Berry. They decided that they were going to celebrate their Christmas in Ohio and Hanukkah will be in New York.

Quinn and Rachel both resided in LA and NYC.

Quinn was no longer working at a magazine; she's working in motion pictures now as a Director of Photography. During her 6 years in the business she's already won a Golden Globe, an Emmy, and a SAG award to name a few. Currently, she was nominated in the upcoming OSCARS ceremony in the Best Cinematography category for the movie HOLOCAUST. It was her first film with her wife as the lead actress, who was nominated also for the third time in the Best Actress category for her outstanding performance as Adava Brickner, the young Jewish widow who survived the Holocaust with her two children in Germany following their journey home.

"Mommy" Arianna called out to Quinn. Rachel looked at her daughter who's smiling smugly.

"Yes baby" Quinn said, already beside her daughter.

"Do you think Grandpa Leroy would love this tie?" Arianna asked her mother for advice; she was holding a Red Tasmanian Devil tie.

"Honey, of course Grandpa Leroy will be happy to have this tie" Quinn encouraged their daughter.

"You think so?"

"Yep."

"What about you, momma?"

"Honey, I know Grandpa Leroy will like the tie, anything that came from you he will wear it" Rachel said as she kissed her daughter's cheek. With that assurance their daughter was bouncing with joy.

Rachel and Quinn just followed their daughter throughout the shop and let her do all the shopping since Quinn already bought the things that they needed back home.

Time passed by so fast, when they went home for Christmas in Lima, Quinn organized a reunion for the original Glee Club members, so Rachel was able to reconcile with the whole Glee Clubbers even before their wedding. Rachel proved to everyone that she had a huge heart since she never held any grudges with them anymore.

Santana and Brittany became their closest friends since the couple also resided within their neighborhood in LA. Santana was a lawyer, practicing in family cases, Brittany had her own dance studio, and with the help of Rachel she was one of the most sought after dance choreographers in the business.

As for them it seemed everything was in the right place, there maybe could be some roadblocks like any other couple but it didn't mean they would stop trying; it make their love grow stronger. Though some of the activists and so called righteous people continued bashing them in public but they didn't care anymore. It might be wrong in the eyes of others and the Creator but it felt so damn right to them.

Quinn looked at Rachel and smiling lovingly. She knew she was not too late; it was perfect timing for both of them.


End file.
